Regd. Ao.

: 1KEAG/2/4174
Published From Srinagar.
Aug. 213. Jol.14, Ao: 172.
EditoriaI-ControI That Everyday Scourge-Irritation
Question Answer
Lesson from the Qur'an
Lesson from Sahih aI-Bukhari
Time is Life
My Mother's Day
The Man We Love and FoIIow
No Haya No Life
Do You See AIIah
What a Perfect Match
DeaIing With Grief-II
In the Name of AIIah
ConsuIt Your Heart
The MiracIe of Positive Thinking
Leading With Wisdom
ReveIation-A Panacea for SociaI ProbIems
Praiseworthy MoraIs-Khauf
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P.O. Box 974 G.P.O.
Srinagar, Kashmir, 190 001 India.
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~The Truth
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Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
[[
All thanks for Almighty, the most Merciful and Exalted
EDITORIAL
1he promoters ol nude body scan-
ners have used one argument that they con-
slder to be bullet-prool. lt ls all about savlng
llves, they assure us. 1he news reports that
accompanled the announcement ol thelr sud-
den and unlversal lnstallatlon reported pas-
sengers acceptlng the scanners because what
they gave up ln modesty they got back ln
added securlty.
Cr d|d they?
What exactly ls the galn ln securlty as
a result ol mandatlng these legal obscenltles?
Pow blg ls the current rlsk and how much wlll
lt be reduced by the new measures?
1hese are the questlons that have
not been explored. And here ls the blg news.
lor even the best case analysls shows that
the galn ls so small as to be totally lnslgnlll-
cant.
Avallable data lndlcates that llylng ls
a very sale mode ol travel and the lurther
lncrease ln salety wlth the new measures wlll
be very marglnal. 8ased on hlstorlc olllclal
data currently the probablllty ol a passenger
dylng ln an alr carrler accldent ls 1 out ol
2,067,000 (much smaller than the one lor
motor vehlcles, whlch ls 1 out ol 7,700). Wlth
the drastlc measures now belng lmple-
mented, ln the best case scenarlo, thls wlll
only be reduced to 1 out ol 2,271,428.
1he expected lmprovement can be
calculated by looklng at the hlstorlc data lor
causes ol alrcralt latal accldents. Avallable
records lor the past slxty years show that
sabotage has been a very small and decreas-
lng contrlbutor to the overall alrcralt latal
accldent probablllty. lanecrashlnlo.com ana-
lyzed data lor all alrcralt latal lncldents that
occurred lrom 1930-2008. Cnly 9 ol these
were caused by sabotage, whlch lncludes use
ol exploslves, shoot downs, and hl[acklngs. ln
other words 91 ol all commerclal alrcralt
accldents causlng latalltles were caused by
other lactors. Cl these 30 were caused by
pllot error, 22 by mechanlcal lallure and
12 by weather. 1he contrlbutlon to latal
accldents by sabotage was the hlghest ln the
1980s and has been decreaslng ever slnce. lt
stood at the 38-year average ol 9 lor the
2000s.
lt does not take a genlus to llgure
out that much blgger galns ln savlng llves can
be made by addresslng the lactors that con-
trlbute to the 91 ol the problem. 1hat there
ls room lor lmprovement there ls lndlcated
by a slx-month uSA 1CuA? lnvestlgatlon that
lound that durlng the past slx years, mllllons
ol passengers have been on at least 63,000
u.S. alrllne lllghts that shouldn't have taken
oll because planes weren't properly maln-
talned. Accordlng to the report, the lederal
Avlatlon Admlnlstratlon (lAA), whlch over-
sees alrllnes, levled $28.2 mllllon ln llnes and
proposed llnes agalnst 23 u.S. passenger alr-
llnes lor malntenance vlolatlons that oc-
curred durlng the past slx years. 1hls only
represents a small lractlon ol the actual prob-
lem, because about 90 ol malntenance
vlolatlons don't result ln llnes but warnlng
letters or other reprlmands by the lAA."
Lven ll we make the drastlc and lalse
assumptlon that the new pollcles wlll com-
cootJ oo poqe 14
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 3
uest|on:
l was wonderlng why lt ls prohlblted
to worshlp Allah whlle you are golng through
the menses? l appreclate that there ls an ls-
sue about cleanllness. What ll you really want
to connect wlth Cod and want to do du`aa'?!
Why ls the worshlplng ln lslam so rltuallzed?
Why do we have to pray llve tlmes a day?
Sometlmes l want to connect wlth Cod and l
want to pray more than that and other tlmes
l don't and l am happy wlth three tlmes??!
lsn't the actual act ol worshlplng more lmpor-
tant than how olten you do lt? Why ls some-
thlng llke worshlplng Cod embedded ln a sys-
tem when the worshlplng should come lrom
lnslde and represent a splrltual bond rather
than [ust the act ol tlcklng a box? 1hank you
lor answerlng my questlon. lt seems to be
throwlng oll a number ol lssues.
Answer:
Although there are many, l leel that
your maln concern ls why you are not lree to
worshlp Allah when and how you please. er-
haps the lollowlng example wlll shed some
llght on thls matter.
lmaglne that Cueen Lllzabeth hersell
has lnvlted you lor a personal vlslt ln her pal-
ace. 1here ls no doubt that you would be very
exclted by thls very speclal lnvltatlon and
would do your utmost to appear belore her
ln the best posslble state. Cl course, you
would meet the queen at the tlme and place
ol her chooslng. ?ou would be requlred to
greet the queen ln a speclllc way that she has
deemed acceptable and you would not be
allowed to come and go as you please. ?our
behavlor would be monltored closely whlle ln
her presence. ?ou would enter upon her ln a
certaln way and would leave the meetlng at a
speclllc tlme and ln a speclllc way. uoes thls
sound reasonable?
Why, then, do we leel that we can
stand belore Allah, the klng ol klngs, at the
tlme, place, and ln the manner we please?
uoes Pe not deserve our utmost respect?
uoes Pe not have the rlght to dlctate how,
when, and where we wlll come near to Plm?
Who are we to lmpose our wlll on Plm? Allah
decldes how and when Pe wlll accept vlsltors,
not us.
Let me also add that rayer (salah) ln
lslam ls not a rltual. A rltual ls an act or be-
havlor that ls representatlve ol somethlng
more splrltual. As for sa|ah, |t |s the actua|
bond w|th A||ah you have mentloned, ln the
way that pleases Plm. lt ls not a meanlngless
tlck ln a box. When we stand ln rayer, we
are llterally standlng belore Allah and Pls lull
attentlon ls dlrected toward us. ll we do not
dlrect our lull attentlon to Plm durlng thls
speclal meetlng, ll we treat lt as a trlvlal rlt-
ual, Pe wlll not be pleased at all wlth our
presence.
Pavlng sald that, lt ls lmportant to
remember that-stlll-we can worshlp Allah
at any tlme and ln many ways. 1he lormal
worshlp, salah, ls structured because thls ls
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
what pleases Allah, but we can make every-
day actlvltles a lorm ol worshlp. 1he only crl-
terla we have to lollow ls that the actlvlty ls
recognlzed as belng good accordlng to the
Sharl`ah, that we do lt ln Allah's name, and
we do lt ln a way that pleases Allah.
lor example, somethlng as slmple as
eatlng and drlnklng can be a lorm ol worshlp.
Cl course, we cannot drlnk alcohol saylng
blsmlllah" and expect to be rewarded! ll we
eat and drlnk what ls acceptable accordlng to
Sharl`ah and we do lt ln Allah's name, then
we wlll be rewarded lor perlormlng a slmple,
everyday act. We recognlze that Allah has
created the lood lor us, we eat lt to sustaln
our bodles, and we thank Plm lor lt saylng al
-hamdu llllah" when we are done.
And we can al so make
du`aa' (suppllcatlon) or dhlkr (rememberlng
Allah) at any tlme. 1here ls no need to be
rltually pure whlle perlormlng those lorms ol
prayer, so that you can stlll connect to Allah
even when you have your menses.
uest|on:
uesplte belng marrled lor lllteen
years, l do not yet have chlldren but l have an
lntense deslre lor a chlld. ln the llght ol these
lssues, how can l acqulre the sweetness ol
lmaan? l am becomlng extremely uneasy due
to thls.
Answer:
1he reason lor thls trembllng and
uneaslness ls that we have declded we
should certalnly recelve a certaln thlng or be
blessed wlth chlldren, etc. 1here ls nothlng
wrong ln maklng du'aa lor somethlng. Pow-
ever lt ls compulsory to be pleased wlth the
decree ol Allah [ust as lt ls compulsory to ol-
ler salaah and keep last. Make du'aa and re-
solve to remaln pleased wlth whatever condl-
tlon Allah keeps you ln. 8y handlng yoursell
over to the decree ol Allah, your heart wlll
remaln at ease. 1hen you wlll not experlence
any anxlety and stress. ?ou wlll experlence
the condltlon that has been explalned ln thls
couplet (translatlon):
1be Mostet Joes os ne wllls. wby, tbeo,
sboulJ tbete be ooy wotty? l om slttloq
peocefully wltb tbls bellef tbot ou ote tbe
5ovetelqo, ooJ tbe oll-wlse os well."
uest|on:
Pow should l deal wlth my husband
when he ls angry?
Answer:
ll the husband becomes angry and
abuslve, never react ln the same way. ll both
husband and wlle end up exchanglng harsh
words, then thls results ln a very bltter end.
When both vent thelr anger and become abu-
slve, prlde and stubbornness overcomes
them. nelther ol them ls then prepared to
accept thelr lault and ask lor lorglveness.
Powever ll the wlle replles to the husband's
anger wlth sweetness and klndness, then
most dellnltely when he does cool down, he
wlll reallse hls mlstake and he wlll ask lor lor-
glveness. Sweetness lnvltes sweetness,
whereas anger adds luel to the llre ol anger.
Doivg Cooa ecove. a.,
!e .bovta verer becove obeaievt to ava fottor ovr vaf. ;carvat ae.ire), or et.e ritb tive re ritt becove
.vcb .tare. of ovr vaf. tbat it ritt be rer, aifficvtt to ao av, actiov covtrar, to tbe aictate. of tbe vaf.. Ov
tbe otber bava if re avger ovr vaf. ovt, for tbe tea.vre of .ttab ava covtivve to tace it vvaer tittte
aifficvttie. ;b, ab.taivivg frov rrovg), tbev it ritt avtovaticatt, becove accv.tovea to it. 1bev to carr,
ovt gooa aeea. becove. rer, ea.,. or tbe frieva. of .ttab, aoivg gooa actiov. i. a totat tea.vre, rberea.
re fiva it rer, aifficvtt. 1bi. i. ave to v. atra,. obe,ivg ovr vaf., bevce re ae.ire to bare ea.e ava covfort
at att tive..
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 5
Commentary: 1afsir Division, Darul Uloom Ilahiya.
Surah Al-Imran - Verse 72-76
nypocr|t|ca| and Iea|ous eop|e of the 8ook
4nd o section of the peop/e of the 8ook soys (omooq tbemselves): be/ieve (ooly vetbolly) ot
doy-breok in whot hos been sent down to those who be/ieve (lo MubommoJ ooJ Outoo) ond
deny ot doy-end
1
(l.e., teoouoce yout bellef lo tbe eveoloq), perhops they (tbe Musllms) moy
turn owoy
2
(ftom lslom by tbls ttlck soyloq. tbese (Iews) ote koowleJqeoble ooJ tbey coulJ
ooly bove tutoeJ owoy ftom lt oftet occeptloq lt becouse tbey koow lt to be folse). {l:72) (1bey
olso solJ) 4nd be/ieve not (wbolebeotteJly) sove one who fo//ows your re/iqion
l
. 5oy (to tbe
Iews, O ltopbet): 5ure/y the true quidonce (ooJ oot yout coococtloos) is the quidonce of 4/-
/oh
4
(l.e., lslom). uo you (O cbllJteo of lstoel) envy thot ony one (wbo ls oot of yout toce ot
ttlbe) shou/d be qiven (tbe qlft of ptopbesy - ulvloe tevelotloo) the /ike of whot wos qiven to
you, or do you feor thot those other miqht overcome you in orqument before your Lord (oo
tbe uoy of kesuttectloo)? 5oy (O ltopbet!): 5ure/y the qroce (l.e., tbe qlft of ptopbetbooJ) is in
the hond of 4//oh. ne bestows it on whom ne wi//
5
ond 4//oh is 8ountifu/,

knowinq.
7
{7l) ne
sinq/es out for nis mercy (tellqloo) whom ne wi// (MubommoJ ooJ bls compooloos), ond 4//oh
is the Owner of miqhty qroce (qeoetous towotJs MubommoJ by bestowloq upoo blm
ptopbetbooJ ooJ lslom). {74)
1. ln order to weaken the message ol lslam the !ewlsh elders across the ad[olnlng areas ol
Madlna orchestrated some people to proclalm lslam and then wlthdraw, and later publlclze to
have lound such and such klnd ol 'evlls' ln lslam and the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam).
(kub-ul-Outoo)
Modern Luropean blographers ol the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam), wlth huge
pretenslons to learnlng and lmpartlallty who begln by admlrlng hls earnestness, hls slncerlty ol
purpose and the depth ol hls convlctlons, and end by denounclng hlm as a deluded vlslonary
and a lalse prophet, are almost playlng the same old game wlth modern varlants. (MojlJl)
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
(Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
2. 1hls verse conveys that the baslc lgnorance ol Ahl-e-kltab (eople ol the 8ook) ls that they
conslder 'the 1ruth and 8eallty' an lnherltance excluslve to themselves and thelr communlty. lt
ls totally lmposslble that a person possesslng the true creed and values ls somebody other
than us or a natlon wlth a rellglon better than we, they clalm. We have recelved whatever was
to be glven and the mercy and blesslngs ol the Lord have been sealed. Powever, the Cur'an
completely relutes thelr clalms. (komololo).
3. l.e., don't belleve that anybody else has a rellglon llke yours or people ol other lalth have
recelved a true book as yours, or that people ol some other rellglon may turn as wltness
agalnst you on the day ol !udgement. (Iowoblt-ul-Outoo) lt ls among the components ol lalth to
belleve ln all the revealed books and messenger ol Allah as Musllms do, but the people ol the
8ook categorlcally re[ect such a demand and 'gulde' thelr assoclates not to lollow anyone
other than thelr own rellglon. (uul)
4. 1hey, who recelve guldance, recelve lt lrom Allah, none ls able to mlslead them. Pe guldes
whom Pe wlll to the rlght lalth and establlshes hlm thereln. (MojlJl)
Pere, Allah dlrects the rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) to declare that true guld-
ance ls that provlded by Plm, and that unless people accept and ablde by lt they wlll never llnd
the real guldance by any other method or way ol llle. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
3. 1here ls no correlatlon between the 1ruth and short-slghtedness. ulverslon lrom the 1ruth
brought narrowness ol vlslon and thought to the eople ol the 8ook. Cwlng to thelr mlsdeeds
they were drlven away lrom the stature ol the lmomot. lnstead ol sell-lntrospectlng why the
status that they owned has been bestowed to others, they lell prey to mallce. (kub-ul-Outoo)
6. unstlntlng ln conlerment ol Pls grace, Pe can bestow the gllt ol Pls prophecy on anyone.
(MojlJl). 'Al-Waasl' - bountllul' ls an attrlbute Allah that by ltsell ls so boundless, so vast that
thls attrlbute has no llmlt. 1hls word ln Arablc means somethlng that has no llmlts. 1oo wlde
and too blg even to be thought. Allah has no llmlts to any attrlbutes, Pls mercy ls llmltless, Pls
knowledge ls llmltless, Pls glvlng ls llmltless, Pls seelng ls llmltless- Allah ls Al-Waasl'. 1here are
no llmlts. Cur mlnd truly can never grasp lt. (uul)
7. lt ls Allah, Who knows well when and on whom to conler Pls grace. Pe makes the reclplent
ol Pls grace only hlm who ls lltted to recelve lt. (MojlJl) 'Al-Allm - knowlng' ls another attrlbute
ol Allah. 1he perlectlon ol lt lles ln the lact that Pe lully comprehends the knowledge ol every-
thlng, the manllest and the hldden, that ol both llttle and great lmportance, the llrst and the
last, the end and the beglnnlng. 1hls (comprehenslve knowledge) ln terms ol both clarlty and
dlsclosure ls the most perlect (knowledge) posslble ln vlew ol the lact that observlng and dls-
closlng one more manllest that lt ls lnconcelvable. lurthermore, (Pls knowledge) cannot be
derlved lrom the ob[ects-ol knowledge. 1o the contrary, the ob[ects-ol-knowledge are derlved
lrom hlm. (l.Cbozoll - uul
1reacherous eop|e of the 8ook
4nd omonq the Peop/e of the 8ook there is one who, if you entrust him with o heop (of qolJ
ooJ sllvet), wi// qive it bock you,
1
(wltbout evet tblokloq to keep lt fot blmself by Jeclotloq lt
lowful fot blm to toke) ond omonq them there is one who, if you entrust him with o sinq/e
dinor (o colo of qolJ), he wi// not qive it bock to you (ooJ wlll Jeclote lt lowful fot blm to toke)
un/ess you keep stondinq over him
2
(vlqotously JemooJloq lt of blm by lltlqotloo, oppeols ooJ
ptoJuctloo of evlJeoce). 1his (l.e., tbe tefusol to poy) is becouse they hove soid (lo justlflcotloo
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 7
of tbls ottltuJe of tbelts), 1here is no woy we con be b/omed (l.e., tbete ls oo teptoocb ottocb-
loq to us lo tbe mottet of tbose wbo ote oot of out toce ooJ foltb, we owe oo Juty to tbem).
l
in the motter of the un/ettered
4
(l.e., tbese lqootoot poqoos of Atoblo). 4nd they te// /ies
obout 4//oh (by ptomulqotloq o folse tellqlous ptloclple) knowinq/y
5
(tbot tbey ote eouoclotloq
o folse Jocttloe). {75) why (wlll tbey) not (be blomeJ)? whoever fu/fi/s his p/edqe (wbetbet
tbot pleJqe ls wltb Allob ot wltb bls fellow-cteotutes) ond feors 4//oh (lo bteokloq bls pleJqe),
then, 4//oh /oves the 6od-feorinq.

{7)
1. 1hls statement makes lt clear that lslam does not resort to pre[udlce and short slghtedness.
Cn the contrary, lt shows open-hearted appreclatlon ol the excellence ol even lts adversary ln
respect ol hls achlevements. (Mootlful Outoo - M.5bofl.)
2. 1he nature ol some !ews and Chrlstlans ls lurther examlned here, together wlth thelr ethlcal
standards and thelr commltment to agreements and covenants. 1here ls no doubtlng the hon-
esty and lntegrlty ol many ol them, but some are not to be trusted or relled on to honour an
agreement or respect a pledge. 1hese llnd rellglous [ustlllcatlon lor thelr greed and decelt, but
thelr rellglons are not to be blamed lor such behavlour. (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo)
3. 1hls sums up the attltude ol the !ew to the Centlle. 'lsrael's attltude towards other natlons,
never marked by much cordlallty underwent most lmportant modlllcatlons ln the post-exlllc
perlod. (u8.ll. p.149) (MojlJl)
4. Lvery race lmbued wlth race arrogance resorts to thls klnd ol moral or rellglous subterluge.
Lven ll lts members are usually honest or [ust among themselves, they are contemptuous ol
those outslde thelr clrcle, and cheat and decelve them wlthout any qualms ol consclence. 1hls
ls a 'lle agalnst Allah'. (usuf All)
3. 1rust and blood-relatlons (tobm) both are ol prlme lmportance ln lslam. 1hey'll be, accord-
lng to a hadlth ln Musllm - at the two sldes ol the gate to aradlse, so that no one who had
wasted them wlll be able to make through. (Outtubl - .f. lsbto ol-Moool)
6. 1hls verse outllnes an aspect ol lslam's ethlcal outlook, lts basls and dlrect llnk to lear ol
Allah (lo tbe 5boJe of tbe Outoo). lear ol Allah thus ought to be the malnsprlng ol our conduct.
1hat alone can lead us to a llle ol all-round rlghteousness and vlrtue. (MojlJl)
1he beloved and lavorlte slave ol Allah ls the one who, as demanded by towo, lulllls
hls covenant wlth Allah and Pls bondsmen. Allah only loves the Cod-learlng and how ls lt pos-
slble lor the one not loved by Plm, golng to llnd hls herealter any better? (uowot-ul-Outoo)
1a.beebaat
.tigbfaar ;..tagbfirvttab)
1bira Kativab ;vbbaavattabi ratbavavtittaabi rataaitaaba ittattabv rattabv a/bar)
Dvrooa bareef
Recite tbe.e 1a.beebaat aait, 100 tive. eacb. f re.evtt, recitivg av, ta.beebaat i. vot art of ,ovr
aait, ractice., .tart off b, aait, ovt, recitivg 20 tive. eacb. e regvtar ava .teaafa.t vov it.
^1R vi.. a .ivgte aa,. rer, tro to tbree ree/. ivcrea.e tbe vvvber ,ov are recitivg b, 10.
v.ba.ttab iv a fer vovtb. ,ov ritt be recitivg 100 tive. aait, ritb cov.tavc,. 1bi. tire rire ritt
certaivt, tigbt v ,ovr tife.
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
8 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
Dr. Rafiq Ahmad
1he Book of Ablution
Sa'd bln Abl Waqqas (8A) sald, "1he rophet
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) passed wet
hands over hls khulls." 'Abdullah bln 'umar
(8A) asked umar (8A) about lt. 'umar (8A)
replled ln the alllrmatlve and added,
"Whenever Sa'd narrates a Padlth lrom the
rophet (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam), there ls
no need to ask anyone else about lt."
Comments
Padhrat Sa'd bln Abl Waqqas (8A)
was the governor ol kula. Cnce lbn umar
went there and he saw Sa'd bln Abl Waqqas
(8A) perlormlng Masah over leather socks.
lbn umar (8A) asked Padhrat Sa'd (8A) about
lt and Sa'd told hlm that he had seen 8asulul-
lah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) perlormlng
Masah over leather socks. lbn umar (8A)
wanted to conllrm lt lrom hls lather Padhrat
umar (8A). Padhrat umar (8A) advlsed hls
son that Padhrat Sa'd ls so rellable that ll he
says somethlng, there ls no need to conllrm lt
lrom others. Padhrat umar (8A) not only
conllrmed what Sa'd had sald about Masah
over leather socks but also testllled the au-
thentlclty ol Padhrat Sa'd (8A). lrom thls
statement ol Padhrat umar (8A), the learned
scholars have derlved the concluslon that lt ls
permlsslble lor a common person to lollow
Chapter S0 : 1o pass wet hands (Masah) over
the two scuffs (|eather socks cover|ng up to
the ank|es).
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
Masah over leather socks ls unanl-
mously agreed upon by all the learned schol-
ars ol lslam except the Shla sect. 1he narra-
tlons about the Masah over leather socks
have reached the status ol 1awaatur" (to
have lollowed ln successlon), that ls why
lmam Abu Panlela (8A) has called lt as one
the slgns ol Ahle Sunnat wal !amaat.
Some people have wrongly attrlb-
uted to lmam Maallk that he was not ln la-
vour ol Masah over leather socks, but Cur-
tubl has quoted lrom lmam Maallk that he
was ln agreement on Masah over leather
socks as ls reported by Allaama Alny. Pe says:
AoJ outbot of Al-8lJoyob solJ tbot Mosob
ovet leotbet socks ls petmlsslble oeot oll ju-
tlsts ooJ 5oboobo"
Pasan-l-8lsrl (8A) sald that he knew
seventy Sahaaba who had partlclpated ln the
battle ol 8adr and who belleved on Masah
over leather socks. (umdatul Carl).
nad|th No. 197
Narrated 'Abdu||ah b|n 'Umar (kA)
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 9
the lnstructlons ol a scholar bllndly (l.e.,
1aqleed) ll he ls rellable and authentlc.
Why was Ibn Umar (kA) surpr|sed?
lbn umar (8A) had seen 8asulullah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) perlormlng Ma-
sah over leather socks durlng [ourney. Pere
he saw Padhrat Sa'd dolng the same act but
whlle at home. Pe was ol the oplnlon that
probably Masah ls permlsslble lor a Musaallr
(traveller) only, then he was lnlormed that
Masah over leather socks ls permlsslble both
lor a resldent as well as a traveller.
nad|th No. 198
Narrated A|-Mugh|ra b|n Shu'ba (kA)
Ooce Allob's Apostle (5ollollobu Alolbl wosol-
lom) weot out to ooswet tbe coll of ootute
ooJ l followeJ blm wltb o tumblet cootololoq
wotet, ooJ wbeo be flolsbeJ, l pouteJ wotet
ooJ be petfotmeJ oblutloo ooJ posseJ wet
booJs ovet bls kbuffs.
Comments
1hls ls an lncldent ol 9th Pl[rah dur-
lng the battle ol 1abuk. 8asulullah (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) went to attend the call ol
nature and Padhrat Mugalrah (8A) provlded
the water whlch had been taken lrom a
leather bag ol a vlllage woman. She was
asked whether the bag was tanned or not
and she replled ln alllrmatlon. lrom thls the
learned scholars have lnlerred that the skln
ol na[as (rltually lmpure) anlmals becomes
1aahlr only alter tannlng.
nad|th No. 199
Narrated Ia'far b|n 'Amr b|n Uma|ya ad-
Damr| (kA)
My fotbet solJ, "l sow tbe ltopbet possloq
wet booJs ovet bls kbuffs."
nad|th No. 200
Narrated Ia'far b|n 'Amr (kA)
My fotbet solJ, "l sow tbe ltopbet possloq
wet booJs ovet bls tutboo."
Comments
Masah over turban
1he ma[orlty ol ulema are ol the
oplnlon that Masah over turban ls not per-
mlsslble. ll lt ls done partly over head and
partly over turban, then lt ls permlsslble.
lmam Ahmad ls ol the oplnlon that ll the tur-
ban ls wound llrmly ln such a way that lt can-
not be lllted easlly lrom the head, llke the
Arabs use lt, then Masah over lt ls also per-
mlsslble. Slnce lmam 8ukharl (8A) has not
establlshed any chapter on 'Masah over tur-
ban", lt ls obvlous that he seems to be ol the
oplnlon that lt ls not permlsslble.
Chapter S1 : If the feet are put |nto the
scuffs when they are 1aah|r (c|ean).
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
ln order to perlorm Masah over
leather socks lt ls a must that the leet should
be rltually clean at the tlme ol wearlng the
socks. As per ma[orlty ol ulema one has to
perlorm complete Wudu lncludlng washlng ol
the leet belore he puts on leather socks and
then he can perlorm Masah over them lor
twenty lour hours ll he ls a resldent and lor
three days ll he ls a traveller.
nad|th No. 201
Narrated 'Urwa b|n A|-Mugh|ra (kA)
My fotbet solJ, "Ooce l wos lo tbe compooy
of tbe ltopbet oo o joutoey ooJ l JosbeJ to
toke off bls kbuffs. ne otJeteJ me to leove
tbem os be boJ put tbem oftet petfotmloq
oblutloo. 5o be posseJ wet booJs ovet tbem.
Chapter S2: Cne who d|d not repeat Wudu
after eat|ng mutton and Saw|q (an Arab
d|shgr|nded wheat).
And Abu 8akr, umar and uthman ate such
lood but dld not repeat Wudu.
urpose of 1ar[amatu| 8aab
lmam 8ukharl (8A) wants to convey
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
that to eat bolled or cooked lood does not
ellect one's Wudu.
nad|th No. 202
Narrated 'Abdu||ah b|n 'Abbas (kA)
Allob's Apostle ote o plece of cookeJ muttoo
ftom tbe sboulJet teqloo ooJ ptoyeJ wltbout
tepeotloq oblutloo.
nad|th No. 203
Narrated Ia'far b|n 'Amr b|n Uma|ya (kA)
My fotbet solJ, "l sow Allob's Apostle tokloq o
plece of (cookeJ) muttoo ftom tbe sboulJet
teqloo ooJ tbeo be wos colleJ fot ptoyet. ne
put bls kolfe Jowo ooJ ptoyeJ wltbout te-
peotloq oblutloo."
Comments
1here are some Ahaadlth ln Musllm,
Abu uawood and 1lrmldhl on the authorlty ol
Padhrat Ayesha and Padhrat Abu Puralra
whlch say:
kosulullob (5ollollobu Alolbl wosollom) solJ
tbot tbe wuJu becomes mooJototy oftet eot-
loq sucb tbloqs wblcb bove beeo bolleJ ot
cookeJ oo flte".
ulema say that thls was decreed dur-
lng the early perlod ol lslam and was later on
abrogated. 1he Ahaadlth ol the present chap-
ter also abrogate lt.
Chapter S3 : Cne who (on|y) r|nsed h|s
mouth after eat|ng Saw|q w|thout repeat|ng
Wudu.
nad|th No. 204
Narrated Suwa|d b|n A|-Nu'man
ln the year ol the conquest ol khalbar l went
wlth Allah's Apostle tlll we reached Sahba,' a
place near khalbar, where Allah's Apostle
ollered the 'Asr prayer and asked lor lood.
nothlng but Sawrq was brought. Pe ordered
lt to be molstened wlth water. Pe and all ol
us ate lt and the rophet got up lor the eve-
nlng prayer (Maghrlb prayer), rlnsed hls
mouth wlth water and we dld the same, and
he then prayed wlthout repeatlng the ablu-
tlon".
nad|th No. 20S
Narrated Ma|muna (kA)
1be ltopbet ote (o plece of) muttoo ftom tbe
sboulJet teqloo ooJ tbeo ptoyeJ wltbout te-
peotloq tbe oblutloo.
Caivivg tbe 1rve ore of .ttab
Mababbat i. vot .ovetbivg tbat ,ov bare to be tvtorea abovt, regaraivg bor to go abovt cov
avctivg ,ovr.etf. Yovr tore for a er.ov ritt ittv.trate to ,ov rbat ba. to be aove. Yov tore a
rovav ava .be gare ,ov a cbocotate. !itb erer, iece of cbocotate tbat goe. aorv ,ovr tbroat,
,ov ritt ta/e it ritb tbo.e tbovgbt. of ber tore ava ,ov ritt reti.b it ritb tbo.e tbovgbt.. ^or
.bift it to tbe airive bava tbat ba. bte..ea ,ov ritb tbat vor.et ava tbiv/ abovt tbe avovvt
of tore tbat .ttab ba. for ,ov tbat e ba. bte..ea ,ov ritb tbat vor.et tbovgb ,ov ao vot
ae.erre it.
Movtava 1bavri ;R.) .ea/. of trve aerotiov. t veav. tbat ,ov ao vot veea to ao too
vav, actiov., bvt ao it ritb tbe trve tore of .ttab. 1be artivg aarice of a;i vaaaavttab
;R.) to aabrat 1bavri ;R.) ra. tbat rbev ,ov ariv/ rater, ariv/ it cbittea ava cootea.
v tbi. ra,, .bv/r ritt be ere..ea frov tbe bottov of tbe beart ava tbi. i. ove of tbe vetb
oa. of evbavcivg ove`. tore for .ttab rbicb i. a avt,.
Mvfti brabiv ate;ee
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 11
1lme ls money. So goes the most used
metaphor lor tlme ln the Lngllsh language.
1here ls some truth ln lt as tlme can be used to
produce wealth and wastlng tlme may also
mean loslng opportunltles to produce wealth.
?et thls metaphor also lmplles somethlng
about the purpose ol llle ltsell that we should
examlne carelully. ll a chlld says that money ls
candy, he'll be rlght ln the sense that money
can be used to buy candy. 8ut adults wlll laugh
at hlm because the statement lmplles that
candy ls the most lmportant ob[ect that money
can buy. Slmllarly 1lme ls money" lmplles that
money ls the most lmportant ob[ect ln llle:
Cne must value tlme as he or she values
money.
Plstorlcally thls has been one ol the
key metaphors drlvlng the englne ol lndustrlal
revolutlon and technologlcal development ln
the past lew centurles. A lot ol lnventlons and
new technlque have almed at savlng tlme and
therelore money. And certalnly the llst ol such
lnventlons and thelr achlevements ln speed are
mlnd-boggllng. 1oday men, materlals, and
ldeas can be moved lrom one place to another
at an astonlshlng speed. 1he tasks that used to
take months and years can be llnlshed ln mln-
utes. And yet there ls somethlng lronlc about
all thls development. uesplte the tremendous
exploslon ln tlmesavlng gadgets, llle has be-
come busler than ever belore. Cverall we can't
show much lor all the tlme that has been
saved.
We are very busy, but at the end ol
the day we can't tell what we have been busy
dolng. Where all the saved tlme has gone? ln
what way our llves have become more produc-
tlve? !ust lmaglne how lnternet has made lt
posslble lor lnlormatlon to move all over the
world ln seconds. And then see how the same
medlum ls belng used to waste countless hours
ln lrlvolous dlscusslons ln chat rooms or mean-
lngless net surllng! 1he [uxtaposltlon ol the
tlme savlng and tlme wastlng nature ol the
same tool brlngs ln lull locus the baslc problem
wlth the prevalent ldeas ol tlme ltsell.
Cne may thlnk that the metaphor ls
not to be blamed lor thls waste. Alter all 1lme
ls money" would seem to suggest that no tlme
should be wasted. Actually bellttllng tlme by
"By the time. Jerily Man is in a state of loss. Except such as have Faith
and do righteous deeds and exhort one another to 1ruth and exhort one
another to endurance." [al-Asr, 13j.
Khalid Baig
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
12 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
equatlng lt wlth money allows whlllng lt away
when one has made the money he needs! So
people talk about kllllng tlme" and the need
lor the gadgets that let them klll tlme. Cne has
to conslder tlme to be much more lmportant
than money not to waste lt llke thls!
1o put thlngs ln perspectlve a qulck
hlstorlc comparlson ls ln order. Conslder the
perlod ol early Musllms when none ol these
technologlcal marvels were avallable. 1here ls
a common notlon that people then lelsurely
llved ln sleepy llttle towns and had llttle to do.
Actually that was a perlod ol unprecedented
actlvlty ln all aspects ol llle! 1helrs was a pe-
rlod ol lntense mllltary and polltlcal actlvlty
durlng whlch nearly hall the known world
came under the banner ol lslam. Comlng lrom
a most backward part ol the world, they lntro-
duced a new clvlllzatlon to the world that was
proud ol lts clvlllzatlon and lts mllltary mlght.
ln personal llle they used to spend a lot more
tlme ln worshlp than we do, most ol them
spendlng blg parts ol thelr nlghts ln lndlvldual
prayers. 1hls would seem to leave a lot less
tlme lor other pursults ln llle. We also know
that means ol communlcatlons were so poor
then, that sometlmes they had to travel on
horseback lor weeks or months to go to an-
other area, say, to collect a report ol a hadlth
lrom someone who had heard lt dlrectly lrom
the rophet, Sall-Allahu alayhl wa sallam. ?et
durlng thls perlod and desplte all the loglstlcs
problems, together they collected the hun-
dreds ol thousands ol ahadlth that have been
complled lnto varlous collectlons and are avall-
able today! And thls ls [ust one aspect ol thelr
work! Pow ln the world dld they llnd tlme lor
that?
1he answer ls slmple. 1hey were
drlven by a dlllerent metaphor lor tlme. 1hey
valued lt as the gllt whose proper or lmproper
use would determlne the outcome lor the
eternlty. 1hey had llstened to the rophet, Sall-
Allahu alayhl wa sallam, when he sald: 1here
are two blesslngs that most people are de-
luded by. Pealth and avallable tlme." [8ukharl].
1hey took hls advlce very serlously when he
sald: value llve thlngs belore llve other
thlngs: ?outh belore old age, health belore
slckness, allluence belore poverty, lelsure be-
lore becomlng too busy, and llle belore
death." [1lrmldhl]. Abdullah bln Pasn (8adl-
Allahu unhu) reports that whenever two com-
panlons met they would not depart tlll they
had reclted sura al-Asr to each other remlndlng
themselves ol the eternal loss that everyone
laces ll we waste away our tlme ln loollsh pur-
sults. 1hey dld not waste any moment ol thelr
llle ln gosslps, useless talks, or meanlngless
pursults.
1he dlllerence ls clear. We may have a
last car, but ll we are rldlng lt lor the [oy ol
speed drlvlng, not because we want to get
there, we'll never get there. 1he success ol our
elders or salal lles ln thelr overrldlng sense ol
purpose and accountablllty and thelr concern
wlth uslng thelr tlme very carelully.
Comlng closer to our own perlod we
llnd other examples ol a slmllar nature. Con-
slder the case ol Maulana Ashral All 1hanvl,
who dled about slxty years ago. Cn the surlace
he [ust ran a small monastery and a rellglous
school and was glven to spendlng long perlods
ol tlme ln lndlvldual worshlp. 8ut he also au-
thored about 1200 publlcatlons ranglng lrom
small booklets to encyclopedlc works llke
8ahlshtl /evar", whlch has seen mllllons ol
coples ln prlnt. Pe also used to answer all hls
mall everyday, whlch conslsted ol dozens and
sometlmes hundreds ol pleces. And he taught
many generatlons ol scholars! Pls secret? A
strlct dlsclpllne born ol a deep concern about
accountablllty lor tlme.
We are becomlng older every day.
Cne day our tlme wlll be up and we'll leave thls
world lorever. What happens alterwards wlll
depend solely on how we used all the mo-
ments avallable to us belore that certaln but
unknown moment comes. 1lme ls llle. What ls
at stake ls the entlre eternlty
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 13
lortune," sald Salllyah as she held the pearls
up to the llght, studylng the dellcate changes
ol colour as she turned the necklace, Why
now.what's speclal?"
lt's my mother's day!" he beamed.
Lr..," began Salllyah as she craned
her neck to look at the calendar behlnd her,
8ut lt's not mother's day. not lor a whlle,
yet?" a puzzled look settllng on her lace.
l dldn't say lt was Mother's day,"
replled ?usul, l sald lt was M? mother's day.
8ut let me explaln.."
?ou remember l told you about nas-
ser who recently moved here lrom the
coast?"
Salllyah nodded ln acknowledgement.
Last nlght l met hlm at Shelkh's pro-
gram and asked hlm why he always begged
shelkh lor duas. l [ust lound lt strange that he
would always lnslst that Shelkh make dua lor
hlm. Pe gave me an odd reply - he asked me
ll my mother was allve, and ll l had lllteen
mlnutes. l conllrmed that l had both. We sat
at the back ol the mas[ld and he told me hls
story."
?usul paused to pour some tea, add-
l love you, mom," whlspered ?usul
as he wrapped the solt pashmlna shawl
around hls mother's shoulders. 1he vlbrant
peach contrasted wlth the dark rlngs that had
grown under her eyes lately, but thelr brlght-
ness had not laded.
Per eyes llt up as she stroked the
dellcate embroldery on the edge ol the
shawl, And thls.?usul?"
?usul looked at her wlth the exclte-
ment ol a young boy unpacklng hls llrst blcy-
cle, Walt ma.there's more," he crled, as he
removed a burgundy [ewellery box. resent-
lng lt ln lront ol hls mother, llke they were
the crown [ewels, he glngerly lllted the lld to
reveal a strlng ol exqulslte cultured pearls,
dellcately strung together wlth small black
pearls breaklng the shlmmer ol the whlte
pearls.
?usul!" exclalmed hls mother, her
eyes brlmmlng, What's all thls?"
?usul stepped back and looked at hls
mother holdlng the pearl necklace close to
her chest, admlrlng lt, Mom, always wanted
a pearl necklace.."
8ut lt must have cost you a small
4bdur kohmoon umor
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
14 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
ol the Carden lor hlm. ll there ls only one
parent, then one gate wlll be opened. ll one
ol them ls angry, then Allah wlll not be
pleased wlth hlm untll that parent ls pleased
wlth hlm."
And when nasser told me - '!oe (as
?usul was relerred to by hls lrlends), you
know, l wlll never be able to call anyone ln
thls world Mum, and l wlll never know the
embrace ol a mother. ?ou stlll have lt, !oe,
value lt, treasure lt,' l reallsed that what Allah
had lavoured me wlth was somethlng so spe-
clal that l couldn't [ust celebrate lt once a
year and call lt mother's day. l declded that
lrom now M? Mother's day
wlll be Lvery uay! - ?esterday,
today and tomorrow wlll all
be mother's day. l can never
repay you, but l know the
heart ol a mother asks lor no
repayment. And.ll l can do
nothlng else lor my mother's
day then l wlll at least thank
Allah that he allowed my door
ol dua to be open lor one
more day."
lorglve me ma..." ?usul choked, l
need to do so much more lor you.."
Salllyah clasped hls hands and
stroked hls lace, ?ou are a good son, ?usul,
Allah wlll grant you lots ol goodness ln thls
world and the next."
lng a sugar to each cup, handlng one to hls
mother he contlnued, nasser told me that
slnce hls door ol dua (suppllcatlon) had
closed a long tlme ago, he had to seek an-
other door lor dua. not understandlng, l
asked hlm what he meant. Pe was sllent lor a
long tlme, and l thought perhaps l sald some-
thlng wrong, but he [ust looked at me and
smlled. Wlplng a tear lrom hls eye he told me
that hls mother passed away when he was
only llve years old. Pe sald that he could stlll
remember the smell ol her halr alter she
washed lt, but remembered llttle else."
?usul watched hls mother slpplng
her tea and notlced [ust how
wrlnkled her hands had be-
come, the gold weddlng rlng
stlll sat gracelully on her rlng
llnger. She always took prlde
ln groomlng her nalls, bulllng
them to a perlect shlne.
Al ter nasser' s
mother passed away he llved
ln the care ol hls auntles.
1hey were good to hlm and
cared lor hlm as one ol thelr
own. 1hey bought hlm what he needed and
he had much ol what he needed. 1hen he
told me ?ou know, !oe, no one can replace
the embrace ol a mother. And no one can
replace the dua (prayer) ol a mother. l lost
that dua a long tlme ago." 1hen l thought ol
all the duas you make lor me - how olten
when l rush out ol the house you always say,
?usul, slow down, Allah be wlth you!" Allah
Pallz." ?usul, may Allah make your chlldren
the coolness ol your eye."
Ma.l never really cherlshed those
duas untll l heard nasser's story," sald ?usul,
dabblng hls eye wlth a tlssue, l never knew
that those were treasures beyond measure.
And then lt made some sense to me ol what
Shelkh sald when he quoted Abdulla lbn
'Abbas (8A), "ll any Musllm obeys Allah re-
gardlng hls parents, Allah wlll open two gates
cootJ ftom poqe 2
pletely ellmlnate all posslblllty ol sabotage, lt
wlll only lmprove the overall plcture by 9. ln
other words, the odds ol a passenger dylng ln
an alr carrler accldent wlll be changed lrom 1
out ol 2.067 mllllon to 1 out ol 2.271 mllllon.
lt ls lor thls galn" ln securlty that they are
asklng every traveler to submlt to the dlgltal
strlp search. 1he molehlll ol added securlty
has been used to create the mountaln ol the
new securlty procedures that trample human
dlgnlty, modesty, and prlvacy.
"If anv Muslim obevs Allah
regarding his parents, Al-
lah will open two gates of
the Garden for him. If there
is onlv one of them, then
one gate will be opened for
him. If either of them is an-
grv, Allah will not be
pleased with him until he
pleases him."
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 15
1he more one rellects on Muham-
mad (sallallahu alayhl wa sallam), the more
one ls bound to marvel at thls noble Messen-
ger ol Allah and to grasp the truth ol these
words ln the Cur'an: "Surely you have been
created ln an exalted stature." (Al-qalam,
68:4) Let us conslder [ust llve aspects ol our
beloved rophet's character.
llrst, we see ln Muhammad
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) a perlect lntegra-
tlon ol words and deeds, ol all aspects ol hls
lnner and outer llle. Pe practlced what he
preached. 1here was no dlscord ln hls charac-
ter. Pls speech and actlons perlectly rellected
hls true nature. 1hls ls why hls keenly obser-
vant and sensltlve wlle Ayesha (8A), when
asked years later what he had been llke,
could say wlthout a moment's hesltatlon that
the character ol Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) was the Cur'an ltsell.
Muhammad's (Sallallahu Alalhl Wa-
sallam) llle was a seamless and rounded
whole. Pls entlre llle was one ol worshlp. ?et
thls llle ol lntense worshlp never stood ln the
way ol hls everyday llle. Pe had a unlque ca-
paclty to translorm the mlnutest mundane
actlvlty lnto an act ol worshlp. Pe saw every
actlvlty ol llle ln lts proper perspectlve, as
part ol a dlvlnely ordalned scheme. Wlth per-
lect ease and grace he lullllled all hls roles as
a man as well as those ol hls dlvlne destlny.
1hus hls llle was one ol unlmaglnable beauty
and harmony.
ln real llle we see people who are
palnlully lragmented and lull ol lrreconcllable
contradlctlons. Cur bellels clash wlth our ac-
tlons. Cur emotlons and deslres are ln con-
lllct wlth each other and repeatedly over-
throw our best lnstlncts. We make solemn
pledges to ourselves only to break them. We
are a hodgepodge ol ldeas, lmpulses and ac-
tlons that make very llttle or no sense. We
hardly know what we want and where we are
headlng. nothlng ln us ls ln lts place. lnslde us
ls a huge bolllng cauldron endlessly cooklng
strange broths.
A second leature ol the character ol
Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) ls
the comblnatlon ol tenderness and llrmness.
Many dlrect and personal accounts testlly
that he was a very gentle and shy person. At
the same tlme he was a man ol resolve,
never lacklng ln courage and wlll. 1lme alter
tlme he demonstrated thls, take Pudalblyyah,
A. Mohiuddin
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
1 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
ready to serve them and attend to thelr mul-
tllarlous needs and demands. At tlmes he
was even lndlstlngulshable ln the company ol
hls lollowers. Any chlld could take hlm by the
hand ln the streets ol Madlnah. Creat leader
though he was, he treaded Allah's earth
soltly and humbly, ever as Pls most obedlent
servant.
llnally, let us conslder Muhammad's
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) use ol language.
Pe was always brlel, clear and to the polnt,
anyone could understand hlm. Pe expressed
the welghtlest ol matters ln the slmplest ol
words. ?et nothlng ol substance was ever
lost. Pls words were the most approprlate
and appeared ln thelr most llttlng order. not
a slngle word could be replaced or rear-
ranged. Cn hls tongue words lollowed
smoothly ln natural successlon. Pe never
trled to be wltty or attempted to lmpress. ?et
he was marvelously eloquent, expresslve and
deeply movlng. Cne needs [ust to take a look
at some ol hls du'a to see how hlgh language
can soar and what leellngs lt can arouse. 1he
most consummate ol wrlters have not yet
been able to attaln what thls 'unlettered'
man ol seventh century Arabla dld wlth lan-
guage.
1hese llve qualltles are by no means
the only leatures ol Muhammad's (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) character. 8ut they unmls-
takably show how unparalleled he was as a
human belng, how he cllmbed the summlt ol
human perlectlon. Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) was gulded and shaped by
Allah ln such a way that he could lunctlon as
the best model lor human belngs. Muham-
mad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) was llke per-
lect yleldlng clay that Allah moulded and
shaped to lulllll Pls deslgn lor manklnd.
Allah has glven manklnd three slgns
through whlch we can recognlze Pls power
and glory and accept Plm as the only one
worthy ol worshlp. 1he physlcal world ol
cootJ oo poqe J5
lor example. What ls hard to lathom ls how
hls tender heartedness could never shake
that resolve or weaken the call ol duty. Whlle
maklng hard declslons and taklng llrm actlon
he was never harsh or vlndlctlve. Pe lelt no
[oy ln the paln and sullerlng ol even hls llerc-
est opponent. Pls tenderness always tem-
pered and mltlgated the hardness the sltua-
tlon lmposed on hlm. 1he rareness ol such a
blend ol soltness and llrmness can be gauged
ll we look around us. Cn the one hand we
llnd people who are gentle and klnd but who
lack strength ol wlll, and on the other, people
who are resolute but show no tenderness or
sympathy.
1hlrdly, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) presents the unlque slght ol a man
ol both contemplatlon and actlon. 1he tumult
and bustle ol actlon could not prevent hlm
lrom rellectlon. Pls contemplatlve nature
was never put on hold. ln our world thls ls
hardly ever the case. Whlle men ol contem-
platlon are lound dellclent ln actlon, the men
ol actlon are seldom glven to much rellec-
tlon. Lven ll we can recall a lew rare cases ln
hlstory ol men wlth both qualltles, exerclslng
those qualltles slmultaneously ln any glven
moment, as Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam) dld, ls unheard ol.
A lourth quallty worth notlclng ls
how unobtruslvely and gracelully Muham-
mad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) wlelded hls
authorlty. Pe had unparalleled power and
lnlluence over hls lollowers, they would ha-
ven glven thelr leader anythlng to earn hls
satlslactlon. ?et he was never alool, over-
bearlng or lmpatlent wlth hls lollowers, and
never lmposed hlmsell or encroached on
thelr rlghts. Wlthout any ol the well known
trlmmlngs ol power he led men and women
ln every klnd ol sltuatlon. 1o the end he re-
malned one ol them, absolutely humble, ap-
proachable and allectlonate. Pls care and
concern lor thelr wellare, hls love and sympa-
thy lor them never dlmlnlshed. Pe was ever
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 17
whatever you leel llke." Pe was totally
shaken. "l [ust wanted to cause trouble lor
you," he admltted, "but please extend your
hand. l want to repent."
1hls hadlth turned a llle around. Ab-
dullah, the street urchln, became a student
and then a great scholar ol hadlth. 1oday he
ls known as Abdullah lbn Maslamah Can'awl.
Pls name can be lound repeatedly ln Slhah
Sltta or the slx most authentlc collectlons ol
hadlth, especlally ln the collectlon ol lmam
Abu uawud who was hls dlsclple.
What ls haya? lt ls normally trans-
lated as modesty or lnhlbltlon but nelther
word conveys the same ldea as haya. Mod-
esty suggests shunnlng lndecent behavlor but
lt also lmplles bashlulness based on tlmldlty.
1hat ls why the ad[ectlve based on lts oppo-
slte, lmmodest, ls sometlmes also used as a
compllment suggestlng courage. lnhlbltlon ls
dellned as: "Consclous or unconsclous
mechanlsm whereby unacceptable lmpulses
are suppressed." 1hls ls a very neutral dellnl-
tlon wlth no relerence to rlght or wrong. So
one llnds psychlatrlst "helplng" thelr patlents
overcome lnhlbltlons.
ln contrast to the moral amblgulty ol
these words, haya relers to an extremely de-
lmam Shu'bah lbn Pa[[a[ was rldlng
hls horse when Abdullah lntercepted hlm.
Abdullah was a known street urchln. not only
he was glven to a llle ol sln, he was also un-
abashed about lt. lmam Shu'bah knew that
trouble was ahead when Abdullah stopped
hlm.
Shu'bah (d. 100 A.P) ls known as the
"Amlrul Momlneen lll hadlth." Pe ls one ol
the loremost scholars ol the sclence ol
Padlth Crltlclsm. Abdullah knew hls stature as
a great hadlth scholar, but he was bent on
havlng some lun. "Shu'bah! 1ell me a hadlth,"
he sald wlth mlschlel ln hls eyes. "1hls ls not
the way to learn hadlth," lmam Shu'bah re-
plled. "?ou are golng to tell me a hadlth or
else." Abdullah threatened. When Shu'bah
reallzed that he could not talk hls way out ol
thls he sald: "Ck, l'll tell you a hadlth." Pe
then narrated the lsnad (a chaln ol narrators)
and then the hadlth: "rophet (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) sald: "ll you have lost haya
then do whatever you leel llke."
Abdullah's demeanor changed sud-
denly. lt was as ll the rophet (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam), had hlmsell caught hlm ln
hls mlschlel and was speaklng to hlm:
"Abdullah, ll you have lost haya then do
Khalid Baig
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
18 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
slrable quallty that protects us lrom all evll. lt
ls a natural leellng that brlngs us paln at the
very ldea ol commlttlng a wrong.
Along wlth lts unlque connotatlon
comes the unlque value ol haya ln lslam.
rophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) sald: "Lvery rellglon has a dlstlnct call.
lor lslam lt ls haya." [lbn Ma[ah]. Another
lamous hadlth says: "1here are more than 70
branches ol lman (lalth). 1he loremost ls the
declaratlon that there ls no Allah except Allah
and the least ol lt ls removlng harmlul thlngs
lrom the path. And haya ls a branch ol
lman." [8ukharl, Musllm]. As some Mu-
hadltheen polnt out, the number 70 ls a llg-
ure ol speech. What the hadlth tells us ls that
the declaratlon ol lalth ls the most lmportant
part ol lman but that ls not all. lman also has
to rellect ltsell ln all klnds ol actlons ln real
llle. Moreover, haya ls a centerplece ol most
ol the actlons that lman calls lor. lt ls the ba-
slc bulldlng block ol lslamlc morallty. When lt
ls lost everythlng ls lost.
8ased on such teachlngs, lslam
brought about a moral revolutlon ol unprece-
dented dlmenslons wlth haya as lts corner-
stone. 1he pre-lslamlc !ahllya soclety ol Ara-
bla knew the word but dld not understand lts
meanlng. nudlty, the antlthesls ol haya, was
not only common ln every day llle, lt was
even part ol the most lmportant rellglous
rltual ol tawal (clrcumbulatlon ol ka'bah). So
were all the other evlls that llow lrom lt. ls-
lam extermlnated all ol those evlls and
changed the soclety ln such a way that haya
became one ol lts most cherlshed values. 1o
thls day ln lrlday khutbahs around the world,
the thlrd khalllah Pazrat usman (8A) ls men-
tloned as the person wlth perlect haya and
perlect lman (kamll lll-haya wal lman). ls
there any other rellglon that celebrates haya
llke that?
lslam's laws about hl[ab, lts ban
agalnst lree mlxlng ol men and women, lts
teachlngs about gender-relatlons --- all ol
these rellect a deep concern lor haya.
lor men and women who have not
lost thelr haya, these come naturally. 1here ls
a movlng story lrom the earller lslamlc perlod
about a woman who learnt that her young
son had been lost ln a battle. She ran ln a
panlc to conllrm the news, but belore that
she took tlme to make sure that she covered
hersell lully ln accordance wlth the newly
revealed laws ol hl[ab. She was asked how
dld she manage to do that ln a tlme ol great
personal tragedy. She replled: "l have lost my
son, but l dld not lose my haya."
And lor centurles alterwards Musllm
socletles dld not lose thelr haya. When Mus-
llm lands came under the western colonlal
rule about three centurles ago, they were
laced wlth a clvlllzatlon that was no dlllerent
than the pre-lslamlc !ahllya on the lssue ol
haya. Whlle lt dld not have better morallty, lt
dld have better guns. At the gunpolnt ol mlll-
tary and polltlcal domlnatlon, Musllm socle-
tles were made to loose thelr grlp on haya on
the collectlve scale. 1he powerlul and attrac-
tlve medla became an lmportant lnstrument
ln thls war. llrst lt was books, magazlnes and
newspapers. 1hen radlo. now lt ls televlslon.
1ogether they pro[ected ldeas and lmages
detrlmental to haya. 1hey made lndecency
attractlve. 1he pace was lncreased tremen-
dously by televlslon, whlch has shown more
llrepower than all the prevlous medla com-
blned.
When hlstorlans wrlte about the
moral decllne ln Musllm socletles ln the
twentleth century, they wlll probably under-
score televlslon ln subvertlng the moral labrlc
ol soclety. We can get a sense ol the rapldlty
ol our lall by reallzlng that what was unthlnk-
able [ust a decade ago has become routlnely
accepted today. ln some cases, we seem to
have lost all control. lsn't lt shocklng that
whlle contraceptlve ads cannot be shown on
1v ln the u.S. or u.k lor moral reasons, they
cootJ oo poqe 27
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 19
Who doesn't en[oy beholdlng some-
thlng beautllul? So much ol our tlme ls spent
ln beautllylng thlngs, places and our bodles,
that lt must lndeed be worth the extra ellort
to lncorporate beauty lnto any endeavor.
Whether lt ls a bunch ol cllantro leaves
adornlng a dlsh, a long-stemmed rose ln a
vase accentuatlng a dlnlng table, a scenlc wa-
tercolor palntlng glvlng llle to a bland room,
or bloomlng llowers llvenlng up a lush green
garden durlng sprlng, a thlng ol beauty, as
they say, ls "a [oy lorever." So much so that,
one ol the best tralts ol a bellevlng Musllm
wlle ls that when her husband beholds her,
he ls pleased.
1hls polnt - beauty ln people - lnvltes
us to ponder on what really beautllles a hu-
man belng? Apart lrom physlcal appearance
and lnherent qualltles ol character and etl-
quette, lt ls lhsan, as our rophet Muham-
mad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) explalned ln
the Padlth ol !lbreel:
"(lbsoo) ls tbot you sboulJ setve Allob os
tbouqb you see nlm, fot tbouqb you coooot
see nlm, yet ne sees you." (5oblb Musllm)
1he root ol the Arablc word "lhsan"
comprlses ol the letters 'ha-seen-noon',
whlch also lorms the root ol the word "husn",
or 'beauty.' Allah says ln the Cur'an, that "Pe
loves those who do lhsan." (Cur'an, 2:193).
lhsan ls, therelore, the epltome ol good ls-
lamlc behavlor and actlon. ll a bellever were
to truly lncorporate lhsan ln hlmsell, the llrst
and loremost requlrement ol that would be,
to llve as though they "see" Allah.
1he obvlous questlon that crops up
ls, "8ut Allah can never be seen ln thls llle?!"
1rue. Slnce Allah cannot be seen by anyone ln
thls world, a bellever's actlons reach the lolty
state ol lhsan when he worshlps Allah at such
a hlgh level ol consclousness that lt ls as ll he
sees Allah.
Cur behavlor ls allected by what we
wltness. When a mother sees her chlld laugh-
lng, she ls tearlully overwhelmed wlth [oy,
when someone rlch sees a mlskeen (poor
person) sleeplng on the pavement, he or she
ls motlvated to glve ln charlty, when we meet
our relatlves alter a long tlme, we hug them.
Lxamples are many, but the bottom-llne ls,
seelng somethlng has a great lmpact on our
actlon.
rophet Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) dellned lhsan to be that
behavlor or actlon ol a bellever - whether ln
worshlp or ln deallngs wlth people - whlch he
Sadaf Farooqi
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
does as though he was seelng Allah. Such a
person, wlthout doubt, wlll be very carelul
not only ln how he deals wlth people ln pub-
llc, but also ln what he does ln prlvate. lhsan
ls a very hlgh level ol beautllled actlon, one
that can be achleved only wlth a slmllar hlgh
level ol lalth (lman).
A doer ol lhsan has such strong con-
vlctlon that Allah overshadows hls thoughts,
hls leellngs, and hls heart at all tlmes. Such a
person wlll always strlve to do what Allah
llkes. 1hat ls what ls mentloned ln the second
part ol the hadlth: "...lor though you can not
see Plm, yet Allah sees you".
1he bellever acts as ll Allah ls there
belore hls eyes always, enraptured ln the
knowledge that Allah ls seelng hlm. 1hus, the
worshlpper leaves everythlng out ol hls exclu-
slve relatlonshlp wlth Pls Lord. Lvery other
relatlonshlp becomes subservlent and a
means to strengthen hls bond wlth Allah. A
chlld, who has been warned by hls mother
not to eat any more sweets, wlll abstaln tlll
the mother ls physlcally ln lront ol hlm.
As soon as she goes out ol slght, he
wlll hurrledly pop another one lnto hls mouth
and chew lt hastlly to swallow lt belore she
returns. Pad the mother been present, the
chlld would have never dlsobeyed her.
Allah ls never absent. Pe ls ever-
seelng, hearlng and watchlul ol our actlons. A
Musllm, therelore, does not "yo-yo" between
obedlence and transgresslon, dependlng on
whose company he ls ln, or whlch place he ls
at. Pls actlons are conslstently ln accordance
wlth Allah's leasure, wlth any human sllps
wlped out by lmmedlate repentance. ?ou wlll
not llnd a person who has reached lhsan slt-
tlng ln a gatherlng that rldlcules Allah's slgns
or prolonglng hls prayers when belng seen by
people or hastlly donnlng the hl[ab ln lslamlc
gatherlngs and throwlng lt oll ln other
"soclal" gatherlngs. ?ou wlll not llnd doers ol
lhsan belng allected by people's lavlsh pralse
or scathlng crltlclsm, because thelr actlons
only seek the transcendental pleasure ol the
Cne they obey.
lncorporatlng husn to such an extent
ln one's llle wlll automatlcally make hlm se-
renely beautllul when beheld by others.
...igvivg to .ttab after .aotivg tbe Meav.
;igbtigbt. of Mvfti brabiv ate;ee`. va;ti. atvraa, 1.t ]vve)
. great te..ov tbat re tearv frov tbe tire. of tbe iov. of tbe a.t ra. tbat tbe,
rovta aaot tbe vece..ar, veav. for tbeir ror/ ava tbereafter a..igv tbeir affair. to
.ttab. Ov tbe otber bava, re aaot att tbe roceavre. ava tr, to go tbe etra vite,
bvt iv tbe roce.. re ao vot evtrv.t ovr affair. to .ttab. v .o aoivg, .ttab tbev
tace. tbe evtire bvraev ov tbe ivairiavat ava tbi. i. tbe begivvivg to att robtev.
ava agov,. revtvatt,, tbi. teaa. to aere..iov, for ove ba. tacea att bi. trv.t ov tbe
veav. ava roceavre. ava vot ov .ttab.
!e att aeeva ov tbe grace ava verc, of .ttab. !itbovt it, re ritt vot be abte to
tire ritb ea.e. 1bere i. vo barv iv a./ivg .ttab to gravt ove av abvvaavce of va
teriat. orerer, togetber ritb tbat, a./ iv for i. grace ava bar/at. v tbi. ra,,
tbat reattb ritt be a veav. of bte..ivg.. Otberri.e, ;v.t av abvvaavce of reattb cav
becove a .ovrce of vvi.bvevt for a er.ov.
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 21
What a perlectly matched cou-
ple..1hls marrlage was lndeed prepared ln
!annah (Peaven)..lt's llke a page lrom a
lalrytale.1hese were [ust a lew ol the com-
ments made alter ?usul and latlma's nlkaah
(weddlng) ceremony.
A lew years later and two beautllul
klds ln thelr spaclous home, the sea was no
longer so clam".Llke many other marrlages,
?usul and latlma's marrlage seemed to be
experlenclng some turmoll. 8oth were sln-
cere and not a nlght passed when they would
go to bed wlthout maklng peace and amends.
latlma comes to her husband ?usul
wlth a proposal: l read ln a magazlne, a
whlle ago, about how we can strengthen our
marrlage." She smlllngly and lovlngly ollered.
Lach ol us wlll wrlte a llst ol the
thlngs that we llnd a blt annoylng wlth the
other person. 1hen, we can talk about how
we can llx them together and make our llves
happler together."
1he husband agreed. So each ol
them went to a separate room ln the house
and thought ol the thlngs that annoyed them
about the other. 1hey thought about thls
questlon lor the rest ol the day and wrote
down what they came up wlth.
1he next mornlng, at the breaklast
table, they declded that they would go over
thelr llsts.
l'll start," ollered latlma. She took
out her llst. lt had many ltems on lt. Lnough
to llll 3 pages, ln lact. As she started readlng
the llst ol the llttle annoyances, she notlced
that tears llowlng lrom ?usul's eyes.
What's wrong?" she asked.
nothlng" ?usul replled, keep readlng your
llst."
latlma contlnued to read and tears
llowed now more prolusely lrom ?usul's eyes
and began to wet hls beard. latlma some-
what nervous read all three pages to her hus-
band. She neatly placed her llst on the table
and lolded her hands over the top ol lt.
now, you read your llst and then
we'll talk about the thlngs on both ol our
llsts." She sald happlly.
Culetly ?usul stated, l don't have
anythlng on my llst. l thlnk that you are per-
lect the way that you are. l don't want you to
change anythlng lor me. ?ou are lovely and
wonderlul and l wouldn't want to try and
change anythlng about you."
1he wlle, touched by hls honesty and
the depth ol hls love lor her and hls accep-
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
22 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
tance ol her, turned her head and wept.
1hls ls not to say that you must overlook
every lault ln your partner. ll a marrlage partner ls
abuslve, or ls an alcohollc or drug addlct, or ls un-
lalthlul, or somethlng ol that nature then yes ol
course there must be changes.
8ut when lt comes to the llttle thlngs, re-
member that we are all lmperlect belngs, strug-
gllng to worshlp our Creator Allah as best we can,
pursue our dreams ln an lslamlc way, ralse our
lamllles, put lood on the table, and balance all ol
the above lalrly. We all have laults. We all make
mlstakes.
ll every marrlage there are tlmes ol com-
promlse. ll you go looklng lor laults ln your partner
you wlll llnd plenty and that ls lor sure! ?ou wlll
llnd many mlstakes, bad hablts, and lmperlectlons.
8ut you know what? ll you look honestly ln
the mlrror you wlll see the same thlngs ln yoursell.
ll you locus on your partner's lmperlec-
tlons you wlll never be happy. ?ou wlll always be
dlssatlslled, wantlng more, leellng deprlved, leel-
lng lrustrated. And you wlll end up maklng your
partner mlserable, and pushlng your marrlage lnto
mlsery.
lnstead, look lor what ls good ln your part-
ner. See hls or her beauty, good hablts, lovlng or
klnd gestures, relatlonshlp wlth the Creator Allah,
hldden potentlal, and lslamlc asplratlons. ll you
look lor beauty you wlll llnd lt. nurture that beauty
by appreclatlng lt, and lt wlll grow. 1he love be-
tween you wlll deepen llke a strong rlver, becom-
lng more and more powerlul over tlme. And those
llttle thlngs that used to bother you so much wlll
seem not very lmportant at all.
Allah ls pleased wlth those who are thank-
lul to Plm. Pe lncreases Pls lavours whlch become
the means ol comlort and respect ln your marltal
home. ll one lalls to oller gratltude and reconclle
our petty" dlllerences, then such an attltude
surely amounts to dlsregard lor the so many la-
vours Allah has blessed us wlth.
Allah says: lf you qlve tbooks, l wlll qlve
you mote. but lf you ote tbookless, lo! my puolsb-
meot ls sevete." (14.7).
5outce. -lslom
arivg a Mv.tiv Miva
1bere are vav, Mv.tiv. iv tbe
rorta ritb Mv.tiv vave..
orerer tbere are rer, fer
avovg.t tbev ritb Mv.tiv
viva.. 1be eavcatiov .,.tev ae
.igvea b, tbe ai.betierer. a. rett
a. tbe rariov. forv. of veaia
rbicb are covtrottea b, tbev are
att .trvctvrea to vovta ava
.bae ovr viva. ava to covtrot
ovr ra, of tbiv/ivg. t i. iv
eratire tbat re brea/ ovt of
tbi. .tarer, of vav/iva ava
evter ivto tbe .errice of ove .t
tab 1a`ata. i.tev to tbe tat/.
of ovr iov. |tava ava reaa
tbeir boo/.. Cboo.e tbe covav,
of iov. rovev. eart. ritt
vore beart..
ife ritt gire tife. !ora. frov a
tirivg beart or viva ritt brivg
tife to ovr beart. ava viva.. Pi
et, i. tbe tire rire iv a er.ov.
!itbovt iet, tbere ritt ovt, be
evt, rora. ava tifete.. actiov..
earv to rat/ tbe atbra, of
iet, tbrovgb tbe iv.irivg rora.
ava actiov. of tbo.e rbo.e
beart. are fittea ritb tbe tore of
.ttab.
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 23
lorglveness, Allah wlll lorglve hlm wlthout
any penalty punlshment, nor any retrlbutlon
whatsoever. Allah wlll wlpe away hls slns as
ll they never occurred. Accordlng to rophet
Muhammad, whoever turns to Allah asklng
lor penltence wlll be lorglven even ll they
(hls slns) are (numerous) llke the llecks ol
loam upon the ocean, as numerous as all the
gralns ol sand, as heavy as the mountalns,
and as many as the drops ol raln and the
leaves on all the trees."
Allah lorglves those who seek Pls
lorglveness, and thls ls because Pe loves
those bellevers who humble themselves be-
lore Plm, those who seek penltence lrom
Plm, and those whose hearts cry because
they dlsobeyed Plm. 1he Curan says:
1tuly, Allob loves tbose wbo tepeot." (2.222)
8ut what ol the one who slns and
never seeks Allah's lorglveness? What about
the one who contlnues to sln wlthout any
plans to stop? Allah does not let all slns go
unpunlshed because thls would lead people
to become negllgent and wlcked. 1he en-
lorcement ol punlshment on these slnners ls
lor thelr own benellt, [ust as a lather's en-
lorcement ol punlshment on hls son ls lor the
chlld's own benellt. lor example, a slx year
Another good that comes out ol sul-
lerlng ls that the soul ls purllled through lt.
rophet Muhammad declared:
8y tbe Ooe lo wbose nooJ ls my soul (l.e.
Allob), oo bellevet ls sttlckeo wltb fotlque,
exboustloo, wotty, ot qtlef, but Allob wlll fot-
qlve blm fot some of bls slos tbeteby-eveo o
tboto wblcb ptlcks blm." (MusooJ AbmoJ)
Some people descrlbe a leellng ol
heartburn when they grleve. Cn a physlcal
level, that may [ust be gastro-esophageal re-
llux dlsease brought on by stress and anxlety,
but on a symbollc level, lt represents the
splrltual heart burnlng away slns llke a pow-
erlul lurnace. When a bellever ls struck wlth
sullerlng, then Allah explates some ol that
person's slns as a mercy. As a consequence,
that person wlll not be punlshed lor those
slns ln the Perealter and thereby wlll be
pushed towards aradlse.
erhaps a skeptlc may wonder why
Allah does not merely lorglve Pls servants
wlthout allllctlng them wlth sullerlng on thls
earth or ln the Perealter. 1he response to
thls ls that Allah does ln lact lorglve any and
all slns, so long as Pls servant comes to Plm
penltent and seeklng Pls Crace and lorglve-
ness. Such a man that comes to Allah seeklng
1. Hashmi
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
24 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
old boy stlcks hls llngers ln an electrlc socket.
Pls lather, learlul that the boy may electro-
cute hlmsell, punlshes hlm lor that. A parent
threatens to punlsh hls chlld only as a benellt
lor the chlld, even though the recalcltrant
chlld mlght be too lmmature to reallze that
the punlshment stems lrom hls lather's love
and concern. ll the chlld puts hls llngers lnto
the electrlc socket, lt wlll be he hlmsell-not
hls lather-who wlll be electrocuted. Llke-
wlse, ll we sln, we do thls to our own detrl-
ment, and the Clory ol Allah ls unallected.
1he worldly punlshment therelore ls a
means, not the ends, the goal ol the punlsh-
ment ls not to punlsh, but rather to serve as a
strong deterrent.
ll a lather ls too lenlent wlth hls son
and does not say anythlng when the chlld
puts hls llngers ln the socket, then the boy
wlll not reallze the gravlty ol what he ls do-
lng. Pe wlll then keep stlcklng hls llnger ln
the socket untll one day he wlll get electro-
cuted and dle. Llkewlse, ll Allah does not
send allllctlon down upon Pls servants, they
mlght not ever reallze the error ln thelr un-
godly ways untll they reach splrltual death.
lor example, the phllanderlng husband may
never reallze that hls lndlscretlons wlll one
day lead to the breakdown ol hls lamlly unlt,
the compulslve gambler mlght not reallze
that hls addlctlon wlll lead to bankruptcy, and
the alcohollc mlght not reallze that hls drlnk-
lng wlll lead to a llle ol mlsery and emptlness.
So Allah sends down upon these people pun-
lshments, ln order not only to explate them
ol thelr slns, but also to alert and awaken
them to thelr detrlmental ways.
lmaglne the chlld who knows that hls
parents won't do anythlng ll he ls caught do-
lng drugs. 1hls would be parental negllgence,
and lt would lead to the chlld harmlng hlm-
sell wlthout any lear ol repercusslons.
1herelore, a responslble parent wlll establlsh
certaln guldellnes so that the chlld knows
that ll he takes drugs, then he wlll be
grounded. 1hls causes the chlld to stay away
lrom drugs lor lear ol belng punlshed. Slml-
larly, the creatlon ol Pellllre-though lt ls a
punlshment-ls also a mercy to manklnd,
through the threat ol lt, Allah creates much
good. Pell-llre ls a punlshment that Allah
threatens upon Pls servants, so that they
may lear Allah and thereby obey Plm, such
people wlll then become splrltual, rlghteous,
and rlghtly gulded. 1hls wlll not benellt Allah,
but rather lt wlll only benellt themselves.
Allah has no need lor them, but they have a
need lor Allah ln thelr llves.
8ut Allah glves Pls servants many
chances and warnlngs belore Pe condemns
them to Pellllre. An analogy ol thls ls ol a
pollce olllcer, who catches a speedlng motor-
lst. 1he llrst tlme the motorlst ls caught
speedlng, the pollce olllcer glves hlm a warn-
lng. 1he second tlme, the pollce olllcer llnes
hlm. 1he thlrd tlme, he glves hlm a helty
llne. 1he lourth tlme, he recelves communlty
servlce hours, and the next tlme hls llcense
wlll be suspended, etc. Agaln, the pollce olll-
cer does not stop the motorlst lor hls own
good, rather, lt ls lor the motorlst's own
good, so that he does not get lnto a tralllc
accldent and harm hlmsell. 1hls ls llke Allah's
methodology: Pe allllcts people wlth mlnor
punlshments ln thls worldly llle, so that they
mlght reallze the error ln thelr ways. ln other
words, Allah allows bad thlngs to happen to
good people so as to punlsh them lor thelr
slns, thls punlshment serves as a warnlng ln
order that they may correct themselves ln
thls llletlme and thereby avold punlshment ln
the Perealter. Surely a motorlst would rather
be llned as opposed to belng locked up ln [all.
Llkewlse, a bellever would rather be punlshed
ln thls llletlme as opposed to belng thrown
lnto Pell-llre ln the next llle.
What thls means ls that when a be-
llever ls struck wlth some sort ol calamlty, he
should take comlort ln the lact that hls slns
are belng lorglven by Allah. Pe should know
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 25
that Allah wlll compensate hlm lor every woe
and grlevance, and Allah ls Most !ust!
rophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasal-
lam) told us that Allah wlll compensate Pls
servants lor even the mlnor hurt that comes
lrom a thorn whlch prlcks the skln. A bellever
who ls golng through a dllllcult tlme should
never be ungratelul to Allah, nor should he
questlon Allah's [ustlce, because Allah wlll
compensate everyone ln the next llle. 1hls ls
Allah's romlse to humanlty. A bellever who
ls aggrleved by trlals and trlbulatlons should
take heart ln the lact that he ls one ol Allah's
chosen ones, whom Allah loves enough not
to punlsh ln Pell but rather whom Pe wlshes
to purlly ln thls llle.
ooa for tbe ovt Re.ectivg taer.
.ttab, 1be Mo.t attea, .a,.:
Yovr ora ba. covvavaea tbat ,ov ror.bi vove bvt iv, ava tbat ,ov
be /iva to ,ovr arevt.. f ove or botb of tbev reacb ota age ritb ,ov, ao
vot .a, to tbev a rora of ai.re.ect, or .cota tbev, bvt .a, a geverov. rora
to tbev. .va act bvvbt, to tbev iv verc,, ava .a,, M, ora, bare verc,
ov tbev, .ivce tbe, carea for ve rbev ra. .vatt. ;Qvr`aav1: 221)
1be ^obte Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi !a.aqttav) i. reortea
to bare .aia:
e i. vot of v. rbo aoe. vot bare verc, ov ,ovvg cbitarev, vor bovovr tbe
etaert, ;aaitb.t1irviabi)
1be avt, of carivg for ove`. arevt. ava etaert, iv ovr .ociet,, iv tbi.
vo.t aifficvtt tive of tbeir tire., i. cov.iaerea av bovovr ava a bte..ivg ava
av oortvvit, for great .iritvat grortb. v .tav, it i. vot evovgb tbat re
ovt, ra, for ovr etaer. e.eciatt, ovr arevt., bvt re .bovta act ritb tivitte..
cova..iov, revevberivg tbat rbev re rere bette.. cbitarev, tbe, referrea
v. to tbev.etre..
!bev eote reacb ota age, tbe, .bovta be treatea vercifvtt,, ritb /ivave..
ava .etfte..ve... v .tav, .errivg etaert,, iv articvtar ove`. arevt. i. a avt,
.ecova to ra,er, ava it i. tbeir rigbt to eect it. t i. cov.iaerea ae.icabte to
ere.. av, irritatiov rbev, tbrovgb vo favtt of tbeir orv, tbe ota becove
rea/ ava rvtverabte ava veea ovr .eciat attevtiov ava care.
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
2 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
8lsmlllah, ln the name ol Allah," ls
the start ol all thlngs good. We too shall start
wlth lt. know, C my soul! !ust as thls blessed
phrase ls a mark ol lslam, so too lt ls con-
stantly reclted by all belngs through thelr
tongues ol dlsposltlon. ll you want to know
what an lnexhaustlble strength, what an un-
endlng source ol bounty ls 8lsmlllah, llsten to
the lollowlng story whlch ls ln the lorm ol a
comparlson. lt goes llke thls:
Someone who makes a [ourney
through the deserts ol Arabla has to travel ln
the name ol a trlbal chlel and enter under hls
protectlon, lor ln thls way he may be saved
lrom the assaults ol bandlts and secure hls
needs. Cn hls own he wlll perlsh ln the lace ol
lnnumerable enemles and needs. And so, two
men went on such a [ourney and entered the
desert. Cne ol them was modest and humble,
the other proud and concelted. 1he humble
man assumed the name ol a trlbal chlel,
whlle the proud man dld not. 1he llrst trav-
elled salely wherever he went. ll he encoun-
tered bandlts, he sald: l am travelllng ln the
name ol such-and-such trlbal leader," and
they dld not molest hlm. ll he came to some
tents, he was treated respectlully due to the
name. 8ut the proud man sullered lndescrlb-
able calamltles throughout hls [ourney. Pe
both trembled belore everythlng and begged
lrom everythlng. Pe was abased and became
an ob[ect ol scorn.
My proud soul! ?ou are the traveller,
and thls world ls a desert. ?our lmpotence
and poverty have no llmlt, and your enemles
and needs are endless. Slnce lt ls thus, take
the name ol the re-Lternal 8uler and ost-
Lternal Lord ol the desert and be saved lrom
begglng belore the whole unlverse and trem-
bllng belore every event.
?es, thls phrase ls a treasury so
blessed that your lnllnlte lmpotence and pov-
erty blnd you to an lnllnlte power and mercy,
lt makes your lmpotence and poverty a most
acceptable lntercessor at the Court ol Cne All
-owerlul and Compasslonate. 1he person
who acts saylng, ln the name ol Allah," re-
sembles someone who enrolls ln the army.
Pe acts ln the name ol the government, he
has lear ol no one, he speaks, perlorms every
matter, and wlthstands everythlng ln the
name ol the law and the name ol the govern-
ment.
At the beglnnlng we sald that all be-
Bediuzzaman Aursi
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 27
lngs say ln the name ol Allah" through the
tongue ol dlsposltlon. ls that so?
lndeed, lt ls so. ll you were to see that a sln-
gle person had come and had drlven all the
lnhabltants ol a town to a place by lorce and
compelled them to work, you would be cer-
taln that he had not acted ln hls own name
and through hls own power, but was a sol-
dler, actlng ln the name ol the government
and relylng on the power ol the klng.
ln the same way, all thlngs act ln the
name ol Almlghty Allah, lor mlnute thlngs llke
seeds and gralns bear huge trees on thelr
heads, they ralse loads llke mountalns. 1hat
means all trees say: ln the name ol Allah,"
llll thelr hands lrom the treasury ol mercy,
and oller them to us. All gardens say: ln the
name ol Allah," and become cauldrons lrom
the kltchens ol ulvlne power ln whlch are
cooked numerous varletles ol dlllerent loods.
All blessed anlmals llke cows, camels, sheep,
and goats, say: ln the name ol Allah," and
produce sprlngs ol mllk lrom the abundance
ol mercy, ollerlng us a most dellcate and
pure lood llke the water ol llle ln the name ol
the rovlder. 1he roots and rootlets, solt as
sllk, ol plants, trees, and grasses say: ln the
name ol Allah," and plerce and pass through
hard rock and earth. Mentlonlng the name ol
Allah, the name ol the Most Mercllul, every-
thlng becomes sub[ected to them.
1he roots spreadlng through hard
rock and earth and produclng lrults as easlly
as the branches spread through the alr and
produce lrults, and the dellcate green leaves
retalnlng thelr molsture lor months ln the
lace ol extreme heat, deal a slap ln the
mouths ol naturallsts and [ab a llnger ln thelr
bllnd eyes, saylng: Lven heat and hardness,
ln whlch you most trust, are under a com-
mand. lor llke the Stall ol Moses, each ol
those sllken rootlets conlorm to the com-
mand ol, And We sald, C Moses, strlke the
rock wlth your stall, and spllt the rock (2:60).
And the dellcate leaves llne as clgarette pa-
per reclte the verse, C llre be coolness and
peace agalnst the heat ol the llre, each llke
the members ol Abraham (21:69).
Slnce all thlngs say: ln the name ol
Allah," and bearlng Allah's bountles ln Allah's
name, glve them to us, we too should say: ln
the name ol Allah." We should glve ln the
name ol Allah, and take ln the name ol Allah.
And we should not take lrom heedless people
who neglect to glve ln Allah's name.
uest|on: We glve a prlce to people, who are
llke tray-bearers. So what prlce does Allah
want, Who ls the true owner?
Answer: ?es, the prlce the 1rue 8estower ol
8ountles wants ln return lor those valuable
bountles and goods ls three thlngs: one ls
remembrance, another ls thanks, and the
other ls rellectlon. Saylng, ln the name ol
Allah" at the start ls remembrance, and, All
pralse be to Allah" at the end ls thanks. And
percelvlng and thlnklng ol those bountles,
whlch are prlceless wonders ol art, belng
mlracles ol power ol the unlque and Lter-
nally 8esought Cne and gllts ol Pls mercy, ls
rellectlon. Powever loollsh lt ls to klss the
loot ol a lowly man who conveys to you the
preclous gllt ol a klng and not to recognlze
the gllt's owner, lt ls a thousand tlmes more
loollsh to pralse and love the apparent
source ol bountles and lorget the 1rue 8e-
stower ol 8ountles.
C my soul! ll you do not wlsh to be
loollsh ln that way, glve ln Allah's name, take
ln Allah's name, begln ln Allah's name, and
act ln Allah's name. And that's the matter ln a
nutshell!
cootJ ftom poqe 18
are lreely shown ln the lslamlc countrles?
We can get out ol the morass by
maklng haya as our number one concern ln
both lndlvldual as well as publlc llves. 1here ls
no lslamlc llle wlthout lslamlc morallty. 1here
ls no lslamlc morallty wlthout haya.
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
28 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
l was able to acqulre a worldly ellect
as result ol lollowlng a legal concesslon but
each tlme l acqulred more ol lt, somethlng was
lost lrom my heart, each tlme an avenue to
acqulre more llt up belore me, the darkness ln
my heart grew. l crled out, 'Ch evll soul! Slnlul-
ness ls the sore ol hearts, and he [SAW] sald,
Consult your heart."
1here ls no good ln thls entlre world ll
acqulrlng lt leads to a turbld heart. 1here
would be no true pleasure ln a garden acqulred
through somethlng that ls rellglously blame-
worthy or a dlshonest transactlon, to sleep on
rubblsh heaps wlth a heart lree ol thls grlme ls
more dellghtlul than (recllnlng on) klngs'
couches.'
l contlnued ln thls veln: sometlmes l
would overcome my soul and sometlmes lt
overcame me, then clrcumstances would dlc-
tate the acqulsltlon ol what l needed to meet a
need. [My soul] would make lts case, 'l am not
overstepplng the apparent bounds ol the per-
mlsslble.' l countered, 'uoes not scrupulous-
ness (wara') prohlblt you lrom thls?' lt replled,
'?es.' l then asked, 'uoes lt not lead to hard-
ness ol the heart?' lt replled, 'lt does.' l sald,
'll thls ls the lrult, there ls no good lor you ln
lt!'
Cne day l took my soul to the slde,
saylng, 'Woe to you, let me speak to you and
llsten well! Assume that you have gathered
somethlng ol thls world ln whlch there ls
doubt, are you certaln that you wlll spend lt?'
lt replled, 'no.' l sald, 'So the tragedy ls that lt
could only be ol benellt to someone else, whlle
all you get lrom lt ls an uneasy heart ln the
short-term, and a burden whlch you may or
may not have to bear. 'Woe to you! lor the
sake ol Allah, leave what bars you lrom scrupu-
lousness. ueal wlth lt by leavlng lt. lt seems
that you only want to leave what ls proscrlbed,
or what ls, on the lace ol lt, wrong. Pave you
not heard, Whoever leaves somethlng lor
Allah's sake, Pe wlll replace lt wlth somethlng
better"?
'ls there not a lesson lor you ln people
who hoarded thlngs only lor others to acqulre
them? 1hey craved and coveted but never real-
lsed thelr ambltlons. 'Pow many a scholar has
gathered scores ol books only to benellt lrom
none! Pow many there are who do actually
benellt, yet may not have as much as ten vol-
umes? Pow many are those who llve a bllsslul
llle, yet do not possess two dlnars? Pow many
are those wlth tremendous wealth yet are be-
set wlth anxlety and stress? 'uo you not have
Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-1awzi
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 29
the sharpness ol lnslght that
makes clear to you the state
ol those who [may galn a
benellt lrom] legal conces-
slons on the one hand, but
suller many losses on the
other. erhaps the owner ol a
house, or one ol lts resldents,
ls struck wlth lllness and
spends thereln many tlmes
more than what he earned
through those concesslons,
but the person mlndlul ol
Allah ls spared ol thls.'
My soul rose up to
rebuke me, exclalmlng, 'l am
not overstepplng the bounds
ol the law, what more do you
want ol me?!' l sald, 'l wlll
relraln lrom cheatlng you,
and you know your lnner sell
better.' lt sald, '1ell me what l
should do.' l counseled lt, ' 8 e
mlndlul ol the Cne watchlng
you. lmaglne how you would
be belore someone ol status
ln thls world, and apprehend
the truth that you are ln lact
belore the greatest Master -
Pe sees ol your lnner sell
what those ol status do not
see ol your exterlor. Choose
the saler course, be wary ol
selllng certalnty lor conces-
slon and taqwa lor a short-
term deslre.
'll you llnd thls ad-
vlce hard to bear, say,
atlence lor a whlle!" 1he
tlme lor you to see the lrults
[ol your patlence] has not yet
come to an end. May Allah
gulde you to lts reallsatlon
and ald you through Pls dl-
vlne accord.'
1be ratve of ror.bi aove iv ,ovtb
Ma, .ttab bte.. ,ov ritb av av.iciov. tife! Cirivg ,ov bai
ve.. ava gooave.., e va/e. ,ov forget abovt tbe trageaie. tbat
befett ov ,ov! M, cbita! !bev a er.ov i. ,ovvg, tbe ae.ire. of tbe
vaf. .vrrovva biv. 1be tive of ,ovtb, borerer, i. tbe vo.t rofit
abte tive for tearvivg /vorteage ava ror.biivg. Dvrivg tbi.
tive, rbicb i. tbe tive rbev tv.t ava fvr, ivraae a er.ov, to
carr, ovt ove covvavavevt of tbe bariat i. vvcb vore ratvabte
tbav tbe .ave ror.bi rbicb i. aove rbev ove i. ota. .eciatt,
if otber ob.tacte. ;oiv tbev, tbe ror.bi rbicb i. aove b, orercov
ivg tbev ritt ivcrea.e tbe bte..ivg. .o vvcb tbat ovt, .ttab
/vor. bor vvcb. or tbe aifficvtt, ava trovbte iv aoivg a ror
.bi agaiv.t ob.tacte. ritt eatt tbe bovor of a ror.bi to tbe
./ie.. .ct. of ror.bi tbat are aove ea.it, ava ritbovt av, ob
.tacte. to rerevt tbev ritt revaiv torer. t i. for tbi. rea.ov tbat
tbe bigber ove. avovg vev bare becove bigber tbav tbe bigbe.t
ove. of avget.. 1bi. i. becav.e vav ror.bi. avovg ob.tacte..
vt avget. obe, tbe covvavavevt. ritbovt av, ob.tacte.. Dvrivg
tbe tive of rar, tbe ratve of a .otaier ivcrea.e. ava bi. ove iv.ig
vificavt aeea aove iv covbat becove vore ratvabte tbav att bi.
effort. aove iv tbe tive of eace. 1be ae.ire. of ,ovtb are tbivg.
rbicb tbe vaf. ava tbe Derit ti/e, bvt tbe, are tbe evevie. of
.ttab. 1be tbivg. tbat covforv ritb tbe bariat are tbe tbivg.
rbicb .ttab ti/e.. t i. vot rortb, of ri.e ava ivtettigevt eote
to tea.e tbe evevie. of .ttab, rbite, b, aoivg .o, avgerivg tbe
reat orver rbo gire. att bte..ivg.. Ma, .ttab bte.. v. ritb aoivg
rea.ovabte actiov. ava rotect v. agaiv.t beivg aeceirea b, tbe
vaf., b, tbe Derit, or b, tbe .a,ivg. ava rritivg. of tbe evevie. of
retigiov! .eciatt, at a tive rbev tbe irretigiov., tbo.e rbo riai
cvte Mv.tiv., are ov tbe ivcrea.e, ava rbev roagavaa cav.ivg
Mv.tiv cbitarev to aeriate frov tbe retigiov i. .reaaivg, tittte
ror.bi ritt be girev vvcb greater rerara., roriaea tbat it i.
correct. Ovr Probet ;.att.ttabv ataibi ra .attav) aectarea:
O v, ..bab! Yov bare cove at .vcb a tive tbat ,ov ritt be
ae.tro,ea, ,ov ritt go to ett, if ,ov ao vot ao ovetevtb of .t
tab. covvava., tbovgb ,ov ao vivetevtb. of tbev! orerer,
tbere ritt cove .vcb a tive tbat at tbat tive, Mv.tiv. ritt be
.area frov ett, if tbe, ao ovetevtb of tbe covvava. ava cea.e
frov aoivg vivetevtb. of tbev. or tvc/, for tbo.e ritb ivav at
tbat tive.
vav Rabbavi bei/b .bvaa irbivai ;R.)
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
1hlnklng posltlve can work mlracles.
?ou may have been told to guard your
thoughts", but lelt the advlce to be polntless.
Alter all, your thoughts are prlvate. Pow can
they posslbly allect someone else? 1he lact ls,
thoughts do seem to boomerang ln some
mysterlous ways. Sclence has not lound a way
to measure them as they have lnvlslble sound
waves. ln order to understand how posltlve
thlnklng works, and how to use lt elllclently, lt
ls lmportant to understand the power ol
negatlve thlnklng.
Neqotlve tbouqbts ooJ teosloos ote llke
bltJs. we coooot stop tbem ftom flyloq oeot
us but, we coo cettololy stop tbem ftom mok-
loq o oest lo out mloJ."
1he mlnd can be dlrected towards
posltlve thlnklng or negatlve thlnklng. 1he
power ol thought ls a neutral power. 1he way
one thlnks determlnes whether the results
are posltlve and benellclal or negatlve and
harmlul. lt ls the same ol energy actlng ln dll-
lerent ways. erslstent lnner work can change
hablts ol thoughts. ?ou must be wllllng to put
energy and tlme to avold negatlve thlnklng
and pursue posltlve thlnklng, ln order to
change your mental attltude. 1hlnk ol those
thlngs whlch are true, honest, [ust, pure,
lovely, ln other words, to llll your mlnd wlth
noble, good thoughts, leavlng no room lor
negatlve ones to take root.
1he noble Messenger (Sallallahu
Alalhl Wasallam) has reported that Allah, 1he
Most Wlse, sald: l treat my servant as how
he thlnks ol Me" (8ukharl/ Musllm). ln other
words, Allah treats Pls servant ln the way how
he thlnks ol Allah, what he hopes lrom and
how he sets hls hopes on Allah. So, those who
come posltlve and wlth a great hope to the
door ol Mercy ol the Almlghty Creator wlll
lnsha Allah not return empty-handed.
1he most powerlul weapon you have
at your dlsposal ls uu'a (prayer). use lt and
use lt olten. 1he basls ol prayer ls to lllt us
and sltuatlons to Almlghty Allah -- an lnner act
ol vlsuallsatlon. A lurther step ls to contem-
plate on our beautllul teachlngs ol lslam --
thls lnvolves controlllng and dlrectlng out
thoughts. A slmple way to thlnk ol thls ls to
lmaglne your mlnd to be llke a garden. 1hat
garden can be spollt and overrun by negatlve,
destructlve thoughts (weeds), or lt can be-
come a place ol peace and harmony by the
cultlvatlon ol llowers (upllltlng thoughts).
out mloJ ls o qotJeo. out tbouqbts ote tbe
seeJs. ou coo qtow flowets. Ot you coo qtow
weeJs."
Are you prone to depresslon? uo you
Shahnaaz Bemath
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 31
see your llle as a hopeless mess... conslder
yoursell a lallure? ll you do, then you wlll
close your mlnd, see no opportunltles, and
behave and react ln such ways, as to repel
people and opportunltles. ?ou let the power
ol negatlve thlnklng rule your llle. 1ry replac-
lng such negatlve thoughts wlth posltlve ones.
1alk to your beloved Allah, Allah does not cre-
ate a lock wlthout a key, and Allah doesn't
glve you problems wlthout lts solutlons. 1rust
Plm! Whlle recognlslng these problems, plc-
ture yoursell as masterlng each one. vlsuallse
yoursell handllng each sltuatlon creatlvely,
belng a success, gradually allowlng your glven
potentlal to blossom.
1he beloved Messenger ol Allah
(Sallallaahu Alalhl Wasallam) advlsed us ll you
look lorward to good thlngs, lt wlll happen
ln'Shaa'Allah. 1hlnklng posltlve ls a very lm-
portant element ol lslam. Always thlnk that
Allah has a plan lor you, ll somethlng goes
wrong, lt wlll probably lead you to somethlng
good. PL ls worklng thlngs out lor you, even ll
you don't leel lt. Pave lalth and be thanklul.
Where lalth and hope grows, mlracles blos-
soms, Allahu Akbr!
At llrst, thls klnd ol thought control
may seem llke an lnner game -- but you'll be
surprlsed at how, slowly but surely, your
outer clrcumstances begln to change. lor
thought precedes actlon, and the rlght
thoughts precede a chaln ol good actlons.
uestructlve thoughts, on the other hand, act
as polsonlng agents. 1hey embltter and llmlt
the thlnker, preventlng hlm or her lrom devel-
oplng good relatlonshlps, because others
sense the wrong thoughts telepathlcally, and
shy away lnstlnctlvely.
Conversely, ll you greet people wlth
the thought that they'll probably be nlce to
know, such a posltlve thought wlll allect thelr
response. ll you're alrald ol someone, replace
that lear wlth a thought whlch recognlses that
the person's glven potentlal "core" ls probably
hldden under layers ol unhapplness and
wrong thlnklng. Sllently bless that person, and
ask that hls or her true sell be glven a chance
to manllest.
A lrlend was once terrlbly upset be-
cause someone was spreadlng lalse rumours
about her. She could not deny the rumour
publlcly. All she could do was pray lor the
woman, try to thlnk about her charltably and
vlsuallse her actlng dlllerently. She dld thls
conslstently lor some weeks. Cne day, unex-
pectedly, the woman phoned her to apologlse
and say she'd been mlstaken, Subhaan-Allah!
lt seemed llke a mlracle! 8ut rlght thlnklng
can work mlracles... Llle has many dlllerent
chapters lor us. Cne bad chapter doesn't
mean the end ol the book. 8e posltlve and
keep your lalth ln Allah. Cnce we lunctlon ln
harmony wlth Allah'S beautllul laws ol love
and lorglveness -- and thls lncludes spreadlng
good, true and beautllul thoughts -- our llves
wlll llower as they were meant to.
1blok posltlve, 1blok Jlffeteot. uoo't woste
yout pteclous eoetqy oo oeqotlve tbouqbts."
ueclde that lrom today, lrom thls
very moment, you are leavlng negatlve thlnk-
lng behlnd, and startlng on the way towards
posltlve thlnklng and behavlour. lt ls never
too late. Soon your llle wlll turn lnto a lascl-
natlng, wonderlul [ourney. Wake up every
mornlng wlth the thought that somethlng
beautllul ls about to happen. Let's welcome
each day wlth a smlle and bld larewell wlth a
smlle. We thank Allah lor PlS blesslngs. 1ake
advantage ol our posltlve energy and employ
them ln dolng well ln thls llle. Let's learn, read
and alter that, we wlll llnd the entlre unlverse
wlll extend to us lt's heart and the whole
world wlll hug us wlth lts beauty... Subhaan-
Allah!
1here ls somethlng beautllul ln llle.
?ou [ust have to llnd lt....be posltlve and lt wlll
llnd you!
We appreclate leedback on our artl-
cles. lease send leedback or any constructlve
comments to: leedback[elslam.co.za
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
32 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
Mohsen Haredy
Puman resources experts say that
successlully leadlng a small group ol people ls
not an easy task.
lmaglne lor a moment the challenge
rophet Muhammad (SAW) laced when he
establlshed the loundatlons ol the llrst Mus-
llm communlty llrst ln Makkah, then ln
Madlnah.
When lslam started to galn publlclty,
the lew people who had embraced lt ln Mak-
kah lormed the nucleus ol the llrst Musllm
communlty. 1hls small communlty was put to
persecutlon at the hands ol the people ol
Curaysh.
1he rophet (SAW) had to do some-
thlng about thls challenglng sltuatlon. When
the persecutlon lntensllled, he asked some ol
them to leave Makkah and mlgrate to Abys-
slnla where lts klng, negus, gave them pro-
tectlon and welcomed them ln hls country. As
a responslble leader, the rophet (SAW) had
a serlous concern lor hls lollowers' salety and
he took wlse measures to ensure that at least
some ol them were sale, lar away lrom dan-
ger.
Alter the death ol the rophet's wlle
- khadl[ah, and hls uncle - Abu 1allb, the per-
secutlon ol the rophet (SAW) and hls com-
panlons ln Makkah lncreased, and hls per-
sonal salety was at rlsk as the trlbes [olned
hands to klll hlm. At that polnt, Cod com-
manded the rophet to leave Makkah and
mlgrate to Madlnah where he started a new
phase ln establlshlng the new Musllm state.
ln Madlnah, the rophet (SAW) de-
clared that both the mlgrants (Al-Muha[lrun)
and the helpers (Al-Ansar) were brothers, and
that they lormed one communlty. 1he
rophet's (SAW) maln goal ln bulldlng thls
communlty was to strengthen thelr bonds ol
brotherhood ln lslam.
Pe also wanted to ease the paln ol
the mlgrants and wanted the helpers to ex-
tend thelr hands to the new members ol the
communlty who had lelt thelr houses and
propertles behlnd ln Makkah lor the sake ol
lslam. 1hls healthy and posltlve atmosphere
was an lmportant lactor that led to the long-
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 33
"?ou are one ol the swords ol Allah."
ln a thlrd occaslon, he told Mu`adh lbn !abal:
"8y Cod, l love you C Mu`adh." (Abu uawud)
Alter embraclng lslam, the lamlly ol
?aslr (8A) was put to persecutlon and torture.
ln recognltlon ol thelr sacrlllce, the rophet
(SAW) used to comlort them, and he prom-
lsed them that thelr llnal abode wlll be ln
aradlse.
1he rophet (SAW) remalned lalthlul
and thanklul to those who helped hlm at the
beglnnlng ol hls mlsslon. 1he rophet ls re-
ported to have sald: "1here ls no one who
had done more lavor to me wlth llle and
property than Abu 8akr." (Al-8ukharl)
Seek|ng n|s Compan|ons' Cp|n|ons
ln llne wlth the dlvlne command: {...
and consult wlth them ln the matter...} (Al
`lmran, 3: 139), rophet Muhammad (SAW)
used to consult wlth hls companlons belore
taklng any declslon. 1he rophet's counsellng
wlth hls companlons were so common that
Abu Puralrah (8A) ls reported to have sald: "l
never saw anyone consult hls companlons
more olten than the Messenger ol Al-
lah." (Ahmad)
1he consultatlons had to do wlth
matters on whlch there was no dlvlne guld-
ance ln the Curan or the Sunnah. 1he
rophet (SAW) dld not go to the battle ol
8adr and the battle ol uhud lor example
wlthout consultlng hls companlons.
ln some cases, the rophet (SAW)
sought hls companlons' oplnlons as what
happened ln the alorementloned example
and thls ls called "posltlve consultatlon". ln
some other cases, the companlons took the
lnltlatlve and expressed thelr vlews on certaln
lssues and thls ls called "negatlve consulta-
tlon". lor example, the locatlon ol the battle-
lleld ol 8adr was declded alter Al-Pabbab lbn
term success ol the new Musllm communlty
ln Madlnah.
rophet Muhammad (SAW) loved hls
companlons and cared lor them a lot. Pls
care and concern covered even those who
had dled, as he was very keen lor example to
pay oll thelr debts. When Cod made the
rophet (SAW) wealthy through conquests,
he sald: "l am more rlghtlul than other bellev-
ers to be the guardlan ol the bellevers, so ll a
Musllm dles whlle ln debt, l am responslble
lor the repayment ol hls debt, and whoever
leaves wealth (alter hls death) lt wlll belong
to hls helrs." (Al-8ukharl)
ln what lollows, l wlll shed more llght
on some other aspects ol the rophet's wlse
leadershlp.
kecogn|z|ng n|s Compan|ons' Sk|||s
A good leader ls one who sees the
posltlve tralts ol hls team members and ln-
vests ln them. 1hls ls exactly what the
rophet dld wlth hls companlons. 1here are
many examples that show how the rophet
(SAW) dlscovered where hls companlons ex-
celled and how he utlllzed thelr potentlals
and wlsely lnvested ln them.
Cne ol the lamous companlons, 8llal
lbn 8abah (8A), had a very beautllul volce,
and the rophet (SAW) belng aware ol thls
gllt declared 8llal to be hls olllclal mu'adhln
(one who calls Musllms to prayer). Cn the
other hand, the rophet relused to oller an-
other dlstlngulshed companlon, Abu uharr al-
Chllarl (8A), an admlnlstratlve responslblllty
because he lacked the requlred skllls.
Cut ol appreclatlon and motlvatlon,
rophet Muhammad (8A) conlerred some
tltles to hls companlons. lor example, he told
Abu `ubayhdah lbn al-!arrah (8A):
"?ou are the protector ol thls natlon."
Pe sald to khalld lbn al-Walld:
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
34 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
al-Mundhlr proposed lt. 1he usual term used
by rophet Muhammad (SAW) ln these cases
ls: "Clve me your oplnlon, C people." 1hls
practlce became a key characterlstlc ol the
nascent Musllm communlty lor whlch they
are pralsed ln the Curan: {...and whose allalrs
are a matter ol counsel...} (Ash-Shura, 42: 39)
rophet Muhammad (SAW) con-
sulted hls companlons even regardlng per-
sonal lssues, llke what happened when the
news ol the slander agalnst hls wlle Alsha
spread ln Madlnah: "C people, glve me your
oplnlon regardlng those people who made a
lorged story agalnst my wlle..." (Al-8ukharl)
Dea||ng Gent|y w|th n|s Compan|ons
Centleness ls a key quallty ol
rophet Muhammad (SAW). When he
wanted to teach hls companlons, he used a
very wlse method whlch entalled both re-
spect lor the reclplent ol such knowledge
wlthout embarrasslng hlm. Cne day a 8ed-
ouln urlnated ln the mosque, and the people
ran to beat hlm. 1he rophet (SAW) sald: "uo
not lnterrupt hls urlnatlon (l.e. let hlm llnlsh).
1hen the rophet (SAW) asked lor a tumbler
ol water and poured the water over the place
ol urlne." (Al-8ukharl)
ln another verslon, the rophet
(SAW) called the man and explalned to hlm
that the mosques are not places lor urlne,
but they are lor ollerlng prayer and worshlp-
plng Cod. 1hls example takes us to the lol-
lowlng polnt.
Correct|ng n|s Compan|ons' M|stakes
Correctlng people's mlstakes ls a
Curanlc guldance. 1he Curan has many reler-
ences to sltuatlons ln whlch a certaln conduct
ls blamed and corrected. 1hese sltuatlons
apply to Musllms ln general and to the
rophet hlmsell. (see 80: 1-10, 33: 37, 8: 67,
3: 128, 60: 1, 3: 132, 4: 97)
Let us llrst clarlly that because we
are human lt ls normal that we make mls-
takes. What ls more lmportant ls learnlng
lrom our mlstakes and not repeatlng them.
rophet Muhammad (SAW) conllrmed thls
meanlng ln hls lamous hadlth whlch reads:
"Lvery son ol Adam makes mlstakes, and the
best ol those who make mlstakes are those
who repent." (At 1lrmldhl)
lollowlng the Curanlc guldance,
rophet Muhammad (SAW) applled the same
methodology when correctlng hls compan-
lons' mlstakes because he lelt that lt ls hls
duty to do so, belng the chosen rophet to
gulde people to Cod.
Whlle correctlng hls companlons'
mlstakes, the rophet (SAW) consldered dll-
lerent lactors. 1he approach dlllered lrom
one sltuatlon to another and lrom one per-
son to another. ueallng wlth someone who
olten makes mlstakes ls dlllerent lrom deal-
lng wlth one who makes a mlstake lor the
llrst tlme. 1he klnd ol mlstake ls also determl-
nant ln the klnd ol treatment. rlorlty ls glven
to mlstakes whlch have to do wlth peoples'
bellel. Sltuatlons whlch lnvolve everyday llle
or etlquette come ln second place.
When the rophet (SAW) wanted to
teach hls companlons somethlng, he used to
lntroduce the toplc by telllng them that: "l
am llke a lather to you." (Abu uawud)
Pere ls an example ol how the
rophet (SAW) corrected hls companlons.
umar lbn Abl Salamah (8A) sald: l was a boy
under the care ol the rophet and my hand
used to go around the dlsh whlle l was eatlng.
So the rophet sald to me: "C boy! Mentlon
the name ol Allah and eat wlth your rlght
hand, and eat ol the dlsh what ls nearer to
you". Slnce then l have applled those lnstruc-
tlons when eatlng." (Al-8ukharl)
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 35
ersuaslon was a lundamental tool
that the rophet used to correct hls compan-
lons' mlstakes. lt ls reported that a man lrom
8anu lazarah came to the rophet and sald:
'My wlle has glven blrth to a black boy' - and
he wanted to dlsown hlm. Pe sald: 'uo you
have camels?'
Pe sald: '?es.'
Pe sald: 'What color are they?'
Pe sald: '8ed.'
Pe sald: 'Are there any gray ones among
them?'
Pe sald: '1here are some gray camels among
them.'
Pe sald: 'Why ls that do you thlnk?'
Pe sald: 'erhaps lt ls heredltary.'
Pe sald: 'erhaps thls ls heredltary.' And he
dld not permlt hlm to dlsown hlm. (An-nasa'l)
kespect|ng the Iee||ngs of n|s Compan|ons
Pe dld not want to hurt the man's
leellng because ol hls poor condltlon.
1he rophet (SAW) was aware ol the
detalls ol every slngle companlon's soclal
status and managed to deal wlth every one
accordlng to hls clrcumstances. Cnce a poor
man lnvlted the rophet (SAW) and served
hlm vlnegar. 1he rophet comlorted hlm and
sald: "1he best condlment ls vlne-
gar." (Musllm)
1hls reactlon rellects the rophet's
(SAW) wlsdom. Pe dld not want to hurt the
man's leellng because ol hls poor condltlon.
Mus||ms' Duty 1oday
lt ls because ol thls wlsdom and
these rellned skllls that the rophet (SAW)
managed to galn thls large number ol lollow-
ers, and to successlully convey Cod's mes-
sage to the world. And because ol hls rellned
manners and wlse leadershlp, the compan-
lons deeply loved the rophet (SAW) and
were ready to sacrlllce thelr llves to save hlm.
Cnce a man asked the rophet
(SAW) about the tlmlng ol the uay ol !udg-
ment. ln response, the rophet (SAW) asked
the man about the good deeds that he had
prepared lor that day. 1he man sald: "l have
not prepared much prayer or lastlng or za-
kah, but l love Cod and Pls Messenger." 1he
rophet (SAW) sald: "?ou wlll be wlth those
you love." (Al-8ukharl)
now, lt's our turn. Musllms are told
ln the Curan that they have ln the rophet
Muhammad (SAW) the most beautllul pat-
tern ol conduct: {verlly there ls lor you a
good example ln the Messenger ol Cod lor
whoever hopes lor [the encounter wlth] Cod
and the Last uay, and remembers Cod olten.}
(Al-Azhab 33:21)
lt ls now the Musllms' turn to re-llve
the conduct ol the rophet and embrace lt ln
thelr dally llves. ll Musllms clalm that they
love thelr rophet, they have to demonstrate
thls love by lollowlng the rophet's (SAW)
lootsteps and hls guldance ln all walks ol llle,
at home, at work, wlth thelr lamllles, wlth
relatlves, wlth lrlends, wlth nelghbors regard-
less ol thelr race, lalth, color or status.
ll we slncerely love the rophet
(SAW) and lollow hls guldance, Almlghty Cod
wlll love us, and we wlll be wlth hlm ln the
Peralter, and the closer to hlm ln aradlse
wlll be those who lollow hls example and are
best ln manners.
cootJ ftom poqe 16
nature around us, wlth lts beauty and har-
mony, ls the earllest slgn. 1he two other slgns
came together: the Cur'an, Pls glorlous 8ook,
and the Messenger who recelved, lollowed
and taught lt, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alalhl
Wasallam). Llke the other two slgns, nature
and the Cur'an, Muhammad's character ls
also a wonder and a slgn. 1hus as Musllms we
admlre, love and lollow hlm.
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
3 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
1hls world ls the abode ol the human
belng, and lt ls a place ln whlch we lace many
problems throughout our llle. 1he problems
that we lace may be ol dlverse natures and ol
varlant types, but all can be classllled lnto
three broader categorles: (l) problems re-
lated to humans and thelr outer-world, (ll)
the problems ol the lnner world ol human
belngs, (lll) and problems related to the lnter-
relatlonshlp ol human belngs. Puman belngs
are bestowed wlth the lacultles ol lntellect
and wlsdom. Puman hlstory ls nothlng more
or less than the tale ol our ellorts to ascer-
taln the solutlon to these problems. 1he ex-
perlmental method ls the route lollowed by
the lntellect. 1he lntellect assumes one route
on an experlmental basls to [udge the appro-
prlateness ol a solutlon. Cccaslonally, we are
successlul, but sometlmes the experlment
proves to be laulty and human lntellect has
to search lor another route. ln thls way, hu-
man lntellect gradually steps lorward, on an
experlmental basls, to dlscover the realltles
ol llle and the solutlons to problems.
ln thls scenarlo, accordlng to one
school ol thought, as there ls no source ol
knowledge but lntellect lor human belngs,
then there ls no alternatlve wlth whlch we
can ldentlly the solutlons ol human prob-
lems. We have to go along llle's [ourney un-
der the guldance ol the lntellect, bearlng the
dlstress ol each abortlve ellort.
A second school ol thought opposes
thls vlew. lt states that lntellect alone ls not
enough to reveal the truths ol llle and/or to
solve the problems. 8ather, knowledge ls also
a source, one can dlllerentlate between rlght
and wrong. Moreover, humans should be
able to reach the destlnatlon salely and save
themselves lrom the lrultless and exhaustlve
ellorts ol the lntellect. 8ut unllke anlmals,
knowledge ls not an lnstlnctlve characterlstlc
ol all human belngs. Pumanlty has been
glven such knowledge through selected per-
sons, thls knowledge ls called revelatlon.
8evelatlon does not exclude human
lntellect, rather, lt respects lt and clalms that
[ust as the human eye needs llght to see, so
too does the lntellect depend on the llght ol
revelatlon to be able to vlew the world cor-
rectly.
Alter havlng looked at these two dll-
lerent polnts ol vlews, lt ls tlme to compare
them.
1oday, ll human lntellect (even alter
thousands ol lallures) has dlscovered the true
Imran Sabir
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 37
solutlon to all problems, then there ls no
need lor human belngs to take on revelatlon
as a panacea. 1he lntentlon ol revelatlon was
to solve the problems ol llle. ll such problems
have been solved wlthout the asslstance ol
revelatlon, then lt ls useless to dlscuss lntel-
lect or revelatlon.
8ut what ll human lntellect ls yet to
dlscover the true solutlon ol the problems ol
llle and ls yet entangled ln the whlrlpool ol lts
experlments? 1hen, lt ls worth lnvestlgatlng
whether humans should contlnue pursulng
these answers wlth the lntellect or whether
they should verlly the clalm ol the revelatlon
by adoptlng lts approach lor deallng wlth
problematlc sltuatlons.
1oday's world carrles the burden ol
dlverse problems-soclal unrest, polltlcal lnsta-
blllty, wlde-spread poverty and destltutlon,
prostltutlon, homlclde, drug addlctlon, alco-
hollsm, the dlslntegratlon ol the lamlly, [uve-
nlle dellnquency, terrorlsm, sulcldes and
AluS. 1he llgures and lorecasts ol thls vlru-
lent dlsease are lntlmldatlng, bearlng ln mlnd
that prostltutlon and pornography are not
only permltted ln many countrles worldwlde,
but are becomlng money-splnnlng sources ol
llvlng, partlcularly ln the West. 1hls ls aggra-
vated by the actuallty that there ls at present
an ever-lncreaslng rlse ln the lnternatlonal
tralllcklng ol chlldren lor these purposes.
Moreover, lnlldellty ls also on the rlse, along
wlth soarlng crlme rates ln leadlng democ-
ratlc and lormerly communlst countrles. un-
denlable lacts lllustrate that man-made sys-
tems that are devold ol ulvlne guldance have
done more damage than good to humanlty. lt
appears that the ambltlons ol knowledge and
contentment have not been reallzed.
ln phllosophy and contemporary scl-
ences-natural, behavloral, and soclal-the
source ol knowledge ls llmlted to the human
lntellect and lts llve senses. 8evelatlon ls dls-
mlssed out ol hand, and ls not consldered to
be a source ol knowledge, lt ls renounced as
belng nothlng more than a parable or a su-
perstltlon. 1hls relusal to accept revelatlon as
a source ol knowledge ls a phenomenon that
has both hlstorlcal and phllosophlcal antece-
dents.
lt ls the natural attrlbute ol human
lntelllgence to ldentlly and strlve to destroy
dlsorders that exlst ln and near lt, thls ls part
ol the quest lor truth." Astoundlngly, re-
gardless ol humanlty's ellorts to brlng order
by abollshlng these dlsorders, they are ln lact
lncreaslng the world over. lt ls the same lntel-
llgence that causes the dlsorders and the at-
tempts to correct them, the only dlllerence ls
the level ol perceptlon. lntelllgence, ll lt ls
lmproved, or not dlsturbed, belleves that lt
can alter the sltuatlon ol the world by evan-
gellzlng good behavlor. Any amount ol teach-
lng or lntlmldatlon wlll only brlng about a
provlslonal alteratlon ln behavlor, yet lt ls
only a lundamental or baslc change ln hu-
manlty's lrame ol mlnd that can change the
world.
ll we are not able to elucldate why
thlngs are the way they are" by means ol
prlnclples that are the results ol the lntellect,
then the only alternatlve, other than aban-
donlng our pursult, ls to search lor the true
prlnclples as the source. So, one mlght be led
to lnqulre, where do we turn lor an approprl-
ate understandlng ol reallty and the purpose
ol llle ltsell then? ll we cannot rely on the
knowledge or llndlngs ol any human source,
then where can we dlscover a dependable
source ol knowledge?
Moreover, knowledge that ls galned
through the endeavor ol the lntellect does
not exlst ln lsolatlon, but rather ls llnked wlth
the economlcs and polltlcs ol the culture
lrom whlch lt arlses, as well as all the rest ol
that culture. 1he thoughts, attltudes, leellngs,
values, motlves, purposes, goals, modes ol
actlon and organlzatlon, rltuals, and lnstltu-
tlons ol a soclety are all lnterrelated and all
allect one another. 1he attentlon to nature,
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
38 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
the ldea that there are causes lor thlngs, that
there ls an underlylng harmony and some-
thlng constant behlnd change and dlverslty,
and that the unlverse ls regulated by laws are
attltudes that result lrom rellglon. 1hese are
pre-requlsltes that must be lullllled belore
sclence can begln.
ln lact, the Cur'an attaches great
worth to human lntellect. lt appeals to the
lntellect ol lts addressees ln order to per-
suade them about lts legltlmacy as the word
ol Cod. lt denounces those who lall to em-
ploy thelr lntellects as belng undeservlng ol
Cod's blesslngs, and belng no better than
anlmals. lurthermore, those who do not have
the approprlate mental ablllty-lor example,
chlldren belore they reach the age ol puberty
and the mentally lll-are not expected to lulllll
the requlrements lmbedded ln the message
ol lslam accordlng to the rophet.
nevertheless, these lacts about the
lntellect do not slgnlly that human lntellect
does not have lts llmltatlons. lt can be
swayed to belleve, lor lnstance, what op-
poses lts own lnstlncts. unrestralned eager-
ness lor a dellnlte model, equally, can cause
the lntellect to be pre[udlced to what ls unde-
servlng ol endorsement. 1here are, llkewlse,
some lntrlgulng problems whlch are beyond
lts grasp. All these llmltatlons restraln the
elllclency ol human lntellect ll used wlthout
restrlctlons. lt appears to yearn-glven these
restrlctlons-lor external guldance. ulvlne
8evelatlon ln the lorm ol the messages ol the
prophets (peace and blesslngs be upon them)
ls thls very guldance. 1he Cur'an and Sunna
(way ol llle ol the rophet) represent the
llnal verslon ol thls guldance. 1he Cur'an has
glven an account ol the connectlon between
ulvlne 8evelatlon and human lntellect as be-
lng llght upon llght (Cur'an 24:33), that ls, the
guldance ol human lntellect ls prlnclpally a
llght, although wlth delects (and therelore
not brlght), whlle the ulvlne revelatlon ln the
lorm ol the Cur'an ls a brlghter llght to com-
pensate lor the lmperlectlons ol the lntellect.
Pence, a brlghter llght (the ulvlne revelatlon)
exhlblts the path to a less brlght llght (the
human lntellect).
lslam, belng the llnal source ol re-
vealed knowledge ln the modern world, also
equlps us wlth the technlques to dlllerentlate
between good and evll. lt does not base our
knowledge ol wlckedness and vlrtue on mere
lntellect, deslre, lntultlon, or experlence that
are derlved through the senses, these lre-
quently experlence changes and alteratlons
and therelore lall to oller expllclt and un-
changlng ethlcal norms. As an alternatlve,
lslam provldes us wlth an unblased source,
the ulvlne revelatlon, as ls obvlous ln the
8ook ol Allah and the Sunnah ol the rophet.
1hls source recommends a standard ol moral
conduct that ls lastlng and unlversal, holdlng
true ln every age and under all clrcum-
stances.
.tbavavtittab
.bv vrairab ;R.) reortea: 1be Me..evger of .ttab ;attattabv .taibi !a.attav) .aia, .v,
vatter of ivortavce rbicb i. vot begvv ritb .tbavav tittab ;rai.e be to .ttab) revaiv. aefec
tire. .bv Darva.
Covvevtar,: 1bere i. avotber aaitb to tbe effect tbat erer, ivortavt ror/ rbicb i. vot .tartea
ritb tbe ivrocatiov i.vittab i. aeroia of .ttab. Crace. bei/b .t.tbavi. oiviov abovt tbe.e
tro .baaitb i. tbat tbeir tet i. covfv.ea ava it. avtborit, i. rea/. e ba., borerer, regaraea it a.
accetabte Mvr.at ;.baaitb varratea b, a .tvaevt of a Covaviov aetetivg tbe Covaviov.
vave). ;or aetait. tea.e .ee rravtCbatit, rot. , 1,2). v av, ca.e, it i. ae.irabte to begiv erer,
gooa ror/ ritb tbe Ctoriov. ^ave of .ttab ava i. Prai.e.
Aug. 213 www.islamkashmir.org Radiant Reality
(Jol. 14, Ao: 172) 39
Allah commands ln the Cur'an :
AoJ leot Me."
8asulullah (Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald:
ne wbo feots, sets off (oo tbe joutoey) ot
olqbt, be wbo sets off ot olqbt, teocbes tbe
Jestlootloo, notk! 1be metcbooJlse of Allob ls
expeoslve. notk! 1be metcbooJlse of Allob ls
Ioooot."
Nature of khauf
khaul ls the palnlul condltlon ol the
heart, whlch arlses as a result ol thlnklng ol
somethlng reprehenslble and the lear ol lt
materlallzlng.
1he nature ol khaul conslsts ol the
posslblllty ol athab (punlshment). 1hls possl-
blllty extends to every person, lor he may be
overtaken by athab. 1hls ls the extent ol
khaul whlch has been commanded and lm-
posed upon the servant. 1hls extent, vlz. lear-
lng the posslblllty ol athab, ls a compulsory
condltlon (shart) ol lmaan. lt ls also known as
khaule-e-aqll (lntellectual lear). At the behest
ol sln thls laculty (khaul-e-aqll) has to be put
lnto operatlon. 1he warnlngs and punlsh-
ments ol Allah should be recalled and ruml-
nated over so as to be saved lrom sln. 1hls
degree ol khaul ls lardh (compulsory). lts
non-exlstence lnduces and lnvolves one ln
sln. lt ls the medlum ol exhortlng towards
vlrtue and steerlng one away lrom sln.
Allah has comblned the noble attrlb-
utes ol hldayat guldance lrom Allah), rahmat
(mercy), llm (knowledge) and rldha
(contentment) lor those who are lmbued
wlth the khaul ol Allah 1a'ala. All belngs lear
the one who lears Allah. Allah has stated that
ln the servant, two lears wlll not comblne.
1hls means that the servant ol Allah, who on
earth entertalns the khaul ol Allah, wlll be
learless ln the Akhlrat, and, he who had no
khaul ol Allah on earth, wlll be overtaken by
lear and calamlty. ln thls regard, 8asulullah
(Sallallahu Alalhl Wasallam) sald:
Oo tbe uoy of Olyoomot evety eye wlll be
ctyloq exceptloq tbe eye wblcb teftoloeJ ftom
qozloq ot tbot wblcb Allob boJ fotblJJeo, ooJ
tbe eye wblcb stooJ quotJ lo tbe lotb of Al-
lob, ooJ tbe eye ftom wblcb emetqeJ o teot-
Jtop euol lo slze to tbe beoJ of o fly, lo feot
of Allob."
ln a Padlth ol Mlshkat lt ls sald that
Allah wlll make haraam (unlawlul) the llre ol
!ahannam lor such a person. ln the hadlth lt
ls also stated that on the uay ol Clvamat,
Allah wlll proclalm to the malalkah to remove
lrom the llre anyone who had at any tlme or
occaslon leared Allah.
lear ls thus lncumbent lor every
Maulana Maseeh-Ullah Khan (RA)
Radiant Reality www.islamkashmir.org Aug. 213
4 (Jol . 14, Ao: 172)
aa irea
aa tirea avovg .v^abi. tive
!bev eote. beart. aro/e
.va avivat. .o/e
aa tirea avovg .rRa.oot. raqt
!bev aeatb ra. vear
.va .ttab ra. fearea
aa tirea
.va .tabeeb vot aiea
!eeivg ,e. ava bvvbte .tate, criea ava criea
rovta /i.. betreev bi. bror ov bi. forebeaa
.va rait
or ove rbo .ttab createa ritb bebarior rbicb
ra. great
aa tirea ava be vot aiea
vva it abi ra ivva tbe Ra;eoov
b, .vrar .baet.atav
Mu'mln. 1here are two reasons lor thls need.
Cne. 1he poss|b|||ty of one comm|tt|ng vo|-
untar||y an act of d|sobed|ence |n the future.
1wo. 1he poss|b|||ty of some act of
d|sobed|ence hav|ng been vo|untar||y com-
m|tted, but due to neg||gence one's atten-
t|on has been d|verted therefrom. Such d|-
vers|on |s a|so a vo|untary act of d|sobed|-
ence.
lt ls a lact that the robber because ol
the lear ol belng apprehended abstalns lrom
robbery, the chlld because ol the lear ol pun-
lshment abstalns lrom mlschlel, because ol
the lear ol belng llned people relraln lrom
vlolatlon ol law. When lear ls ellaced, anar-
chy ls the consequence ln the land. khaul
severs the roots ol all evll whlle at the same
tlme lt ls the medlum ol all obedlence.
1he manner ln whlch to acqulre the
khaul ol Allah ls to medltate on hls Wrath
and Azaab.